Falling into a Fairy Tail
by BlueCampanula
Summary: Starting off lost in the woods with no memory quickly became the least of my worries. Instead I found myself getting wrapped up into someone else's problems too. (Semi self-insert OC)
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note:_ Well, I have no Idea where this story came from; I suppose it popped into my mind after I started reading Fairy Tail Zero and I thought it would be fun to write a story like this one as in: What would it be like to hang around these characters? But anyways, this story has an OC character just as a head's up. For this chapter I also tried to get the characters right based off of what I could glean from the manga.

And Let it be known that I do not own Fairy Tail in any way shape or form. I only own my OC.

*edited 7/19/17*

* * *

 **Chapter One: Starting Off on the Wrong Foot**

* * *

...

"I can't stay with you guys anymore."

"What?! Wait a second—what do ya mean, Finn?!" The blond haired teenager next to me asked with his brows furrowing in confusion.

"I mean exactly what I just said." I responded with a slight frown on my face. "I won't be troubling you anymore."

"Does this mean that you remember something?" The younger girl with the green eyes asked with a curious tilt of her head; she was definitely more perceptive than your average thirteen year old.

"I guess I can't hide that from you, eh Mavis?" I said with a dry laugh.

"I don't understand. Why does this mean that you have to leave us right now?" The other teen asked with a hurt look.

I opened my mouth but I was unable to find any words to respond with.

"After all the trouble we've been through, you're not just going to leave on the eve of a fight are you?" The man in the cloak said sternly with a disapproving gaze. I stopped and glanced at the wooden floor for a moment. I knew that I couldn't afford to stick around with them for much longer; who knows what I could have changed at this point already.

But...

"No," I said with a defeated sigh, "I'll stay with you guys until we free Magnolia from Blue Skull, but after that, I'm gone." I needed to stay away from all of them—all of the people who had become my friends in such a short time, no matter how close to family they all felt to me. It hurt, but it was something that needed to be done; I needed to get back home before anything drastic happened—I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something did.

I cringed as I heard the door slam shut; the boy had left in a fit of anger...or maybe it was disappointment.

"Yuri…" I mumbled sadly as I cast a small glance at the door.

I never asked for any of this to happen, but it just did.

* * *

 **...Present Day**

The first thought in my mind that day?

My head was throbbing—no, my whole entire body was aching.

The first realization I had?

The world itself was upside down. Or perhaps it was me who was upside down.

Upon opening my eyes, I found myself staring off into an endless brush of densely packed trees, each filled to the brim with rich emerald-colored leaves. After a few seconds, I also finally noticed that I was dangling by my ankle from one of those very same trees and that I could feel the blood surging to my head and hear it thrumming in my ears.

The first thing that I managed to conclude was the fact that I wound up walking into some random rope trap in the middle of some random woods in the middle of the daytime. All of that sounded right in my head until I began to wonder something else: what was it that I was doing before I ended up where I was?

Unable to answer that question, I tried glancing around to figure out what else was going on. Bringing my gaze down (or up, depending which way you looked at it) I studied what I wore. From my view point, I could see my black sports bra underneath a white tank-top which was resting close underneath my chin. Further up I could distinguish knee length black pants and a pair of brown hiking boots on my feet along with a rope secured tightly around my left ankle.

None of it rang a bell for me.

Ignoring that I stopped and stared up at my tied up ankle; it was turning a soft purple. The wheels in my mind slowly turned before I finally decided that I needed to find a way out. There was nothing close enough around me for me to use. Gathering my strength I painstakingly forced my body upright, grabbing onto the knot that ensnared my ankle. In response to that, I felt some relief from my headache, the noise in my ears fading.

I quickly set to work attacking the thick rope, trying to pry my ankle loose. The knot was putting up a fight with my fingers, proving to be far more complicated than it looked. After less than a minute of that I gave up, letting myself flop back down into my hanging position. I groaned from the burning sensation that crawled through my stomach.

And now I had some of my curly, dark brown hair plastered on my face as I felt my headache returning fully with vengeance. In a matter of seconds, my vision started to go hazy. It felt like I had blacked out again, but as soon as my eyes closed, I realized that I could distinctly hear voices; at least three of them. They sounded close by, but it was as if they were speaking with a hand cupped over their mouths.

Slowly I opened my eyes again. Immediately I was met by the glaring sun and I quickly shut my eyes again; I did lose consciousness, from where I was the sun had moved to shine its rays down on my face. I scrunched up my nose as I silently asked myself a simple question: where was I again?

The sound of twigs snapping and the leaves rustling around me reminded me then: I was hanging upside down from a tree.

Suddenly the air seemed to quiet and I from behind my eyelids I felt the harsh rays of the sun fade. Peeling back open my eyes, I started when I found myself staring into a pair of lightly colored eyes. Whoever it was in front of me didn't say anything, only blinking once.

"Um," I began speaking, "Hello?"

The eyes in front of me widened in surprise as the person jumped slightly. I realized that they belonged to a young man with sandy looking blond hair. I wasn't sure how many seconds passed, but one of the other voices finally decided to speak up.

"Rather than stare at her, you should probably untie her," the grumpy voice carried over the quiet.

"Hm?" the man in the leather jacket said absently as his gaze drifted away from me. "Oh! Yeah, sorry about that!" He nearly shouted in my ear before moving to untie the rope.

"It's fi—" I started to respond.

 _Snap!_

Suddenly the pressure that held me up had disappeared and I noticed how fast the ground was approaching; the rope that was holding me by the ankle had been cut and everything seemed to be moving a lot slower. I could see the oncoming impact and bracing myself I shut my eyes tightly. But much to my surprise, I felt a pair of strong arms halt my descent and I snapped my eyes back open.

"Hey Precht, that wasn't too polite you know?!" The blond man shouted out in protest; he was the one who had caught me. Owlishly I stared back up at the tree where I could see the glint of the metal knife that was lodged in its trunk. Someone literally decided to cut me lose. Aside from the twinge of fear I felt seeing the knife, I was at least happier now that I could feel the blood rushing back into my limbs.

"You were taking too long. Couldn't you see the girl was disoriented from hanging upside down for so long?" The grumpy voice replied.

I craned my head a little to see an older man with dark blond hair and green eyes standing not too far from where I was lying on the ground. He was wearing an odd looking cloak; definitely not something I saw every day. He looked to me like he was a seasoned traveler of sorts. The look in his eyes told me he wasn't too happy with the situation and the fact that he even threw the knife supported that fact.

"Why don't you two just calm down a little; there's nothing to be arguing about right now," A third person said making his presence known. Stepping into my line of sight, I saw yet another man with black hair whose face was rather rectangular in shape. He was starkly different from the other two in that his frame was rather muscular.

"Is there a party going on that I didn't know about?" I asked sarcastically, causing the three men to realize that I was still there. I slowly sat up from the ground and started rubbing my sore ankle.

"So, what brings you to the Woodsea?" The blond asked kneeling down at my side.

"Woodsea?" I questioned in confusion. "What's that?"

"This forest," The cloaked man responded with an uninterested face.

My brow furrowed in contemplation; that name didn't seem familiar to me in the least bit.

"Wait, where is this forest?" I asked again tilting my head up to look at them. The third man was standing to the side quietly observing our conversation while the man in the cloak gave me a scrutinizing glare. I was starting to feel really uncomfortable with the way things were going. I had no clue what they were even talking about.

"Hold on, you're telling me you have never heard of the Worth Woodsea? One of the largest forests in Fiore?" The blond asked with a skeptical look on his face.

I stared back blankly.

"Come again now?"

The cloaked man let out an irritated huff. "We need to get moving now before the sun sets. We still have a lot of ground to cover and don't have time for this," he said in annoyance. The man turned with a flourish of his cloak and began to walk away. The muscled guy with the black hair shot me a pitying look before following after him while the blond guy stayed put.

"Come on Precht," The muscled man started. "It seems like this girl's a little confused. We should probably help her out. After all, it is kinda our fault that she got stuck in the tree in the first place." The man identified as Precht gave him a sidelong glance. Before they could exchange any more words, I interrupted them.

"Hey, could someone give me a hand up?" I asked outstretching a hand.

"Sure." The blond reached out to my hand before quickly pulling me up with ease. Being back on my feet, I straightened out the sleeveless white shirt I was wearing and dusted off my black cargo pants. "Oh yeah, we haven't introduced ourselves. That's Warrod Sequen," The blond said pointing to the dark haired man, "And that stick in the mud is Precht Gaebolg," He finished pointing to the man in the cloak. "As for me, well you can call me Yuri—Yuri Dreyar!" He jabbed a thumb at himself before smiling confidently.

"Ah," I said with a broad smile, "it's nice to meet you all!" I stood in silence looking between the three men. They all looked back at me and waited for me to say something else. "Oh!" I said in realization. "Um, sorry about that," I said rubbing my head awkwardly, "my name is…"

I paused for a moment to think.

"Hmmm," I hummed to myself placing my hand on my chin in thought.

Trying once more, I opened my mouth. "My name is…" I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration. I tried digging into my mind, searching for my name, but it felt kind of weird as if something was distracting me from finding the answer I sought. Panic rose up in my chest as almost a minute passed and I couldn't find what I was looking for; I didn't have a name at all. It was gone, all to be replaced by a niggling feeling that something was completely wrong with where I was.

"Okay, now it seems like that could be a problem," Yuri chimed.

"Do you think…amnesia?" Warrod suggested quietly. His words hung on the air and they all came to the same conclusion. Precht finally turned around to face me fully. Still with the same look on his face he stepped forward looking me in the eye and asked me another simple question.

"Where are you from?"

I found my gaze drawn to the ground as a scowl formed on my face.

"I…I don't know, do I?" I asked myself.

Blank.

Everything was blank in my mind; hidden behind a wall and unreachable. But I knew that there was supposed to be something there. All I could find though was emptiness and it scared me a little.

I felt my headache start to come back again.

* * *

...

"Why is the air so humid?" I complained under my breath as I kept walking.

"Humid?" Yuri asked overhearing my statement. "It seems pretty dry to me."

After pulling myself away from a near panic attack I ended up tagging along with the the three men, walking through the great expanse of forest. As hard as it was for me to come to terms with it, they were the only people that I could say that I knew now. And I was absolutely torn as for what I had to do. But rather than say anything about it, I simply followed the trio all while gazing in wonder at the surrounding woods. We had been walking nearly all day. Warrod and Yuri didn't appear to mind, but it looked as if Precht was miffed by my presence.

"You don't feel it?" I said turning to him. "When I breathe in, I feel as if I'm practically drinking the air."

And while I did remain quiet for most of the trek, there was that one thing I couldn't ignore; it was the fact that the air around us was unbearably heavy, thick like pea-soup. It formed a massive blanket and was almost suffocating, but as strange as it sounded it wasn't muggy or hot. Every breath I took in weighed heavily in my lungs before I expelled it again and it almost felt sickening.

"Perhaps you're still experiencing shortness of breath from being upside down for a while? it's actually rather cool out." Warrod suggested from my side.

"Maybe…" I said unable to respond anything else.

As the shadows of the trees grew, the sun had begun to fade off in the distance. The forest floor was dotted by the numerous specks of light seeping throuhg the tree leaves overhead. I never actually realized just how fast the time had passed when we were walking; the day was already over. Ahead of us, Precht stopped walking before he turned around to face us.

"We should camp here for the night." He said.

"Great, I'm starving!" Yuri added.

"I saw some pretty good mushrooms back over that way." Warrod said thoughtfully.

The three men set down their stuff on the ground and I watched Warrod walking straight back into the woods and out of sight. Precht set to work clearing out a small space and Yuri was tying together a fishing pole. I glanced back and forth between the two with my hands fidgeting slightly; I had no clue what I was supposed to do.

"Hey, uh, Yuri?" I finally spoke up. "Can I go with you?"

And within about ten minutes I found myself sitting by the edge of a small nearby stream watching Yuri attempt to fish. With the hastily made rod in hand, he was sitting impatiently next to the edge of the water as he waited for the fish to bite. All around us, the noise of crickets and frogs could be heard. I didn't notice it before, but the woods were actually pretty noisy.

"You don't have the patience for this, do you?" I wondered aloud as I watched him.

"Well," Yuri said with a small shrug, "It's not really my thing."

"Hm. That's cool," I replied simply. There was the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I didn't like fishing either. I looked over into the water and began to get lost in its rippling surface with my grey eyes staring back at me. I didn't know what to think right now. I was lost and far away from home, that much I was certain about. Not a clue floated through my mind as to where I needed to begin in order to find my way home and then my identity itself was still missing.

"So..." Yuri cut into my thoughts. "I guess we need to come up with a name for you."

I raised an eyebrow.

How we had been thinking the same thing was beyond me.

"Why?"

"It would be a lot easier than having to say 'hey you' or 'girl'."

He had a point, though I didn't like it. Having my name would make things much easier, but there weren't any clues for where to start.

Searching my pockets earlier, I only managed to uncover a cell phone with a drained battery and a digital wrist watch with its time and date stuck at 7:07, July 7th. I even tried showing my phone to Warrod at one point who had been watching me and he didn't even know what to make of it. In fact, it looked like he had never seen a cell phone at all in his life.

That was one of the signs that told me I was very far from home. Another sign might have been the fact that the date wasn't anywhere near July at all. When I had asked, Precht had been the one to respond. Pushing those details aside, I figured it was best not to dwell on it; the more I got concerned over the small things, the worse I was going to make it.

"Gotcha!" Yuri shouted suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I snapped to attention to see him pulling on the rod with all of his might, trying to reel in the fish that was on the other end. Staggering onto his feet he was struggling with the line. Fighting against the catch, I watched in faint amusement as he stumbled back and forth, edging towards the water and then taking a few steps back at a time. He really didn't know how to fish.

"What's the matter," I began saying jokingly, "You're acting as if a shark is—"

"Ah ha!" He shouted triumphantly as he yanked the pole back. That was when a massive fish the size of a cow came flying out of the water landing with a solid smack against the rocks. I felt my mouth drop open as I watched the fish land writhing on the ground with it's scales reflecting the remaining sunlight. I glanced back up at Yuri; he was looking quite pleased at himself. He had just pulled a jumbo sized purple fish out of a stream that shouldn't even have a fish the size of a cat.

"How is that possible?" I said awestruck.

"That's just how it's done," Yuri said flashing me a grin and a thumbs up.

"Uh huh, sure." I said eyeing the fish wearily. I reached out a hand to touch its unusually colored purple scales. That was when it started flailing around again, nearly swiping at my fingers with its tail.

"Careful!" Yuri said snatching my hand away from it. "You don't want to touch the fins—they can be pretty painful you know."

Fin.

Finn.

"Ah!" I said with my eyes lighting up. "That's it!" I cried.

"That's what?" Yuri asked.

"My name!" I said clasping my hands together.

"And that is?" Yuri said leaning forward a bit with interest.

"Finn. My name is Finn." I smirked victoriously. It clicked in my mind, something with a sense of familiarity attached to it. And it easily put me one step closer to finding out who I was and where I was from. For the first time that whole day I felt pure happiness well up inside of me with such a small accomplishment.

"Isn't that…A boy's name?" Yuri stated plainly. "You sure you don't want a different one?"

I turned at him and pouted. "Is not! It's a perfectly _girly_ name," I said defensively.

"Sure it is," He mumbled with a laugh.

"Okay, fine then _girly-boy_ —Whatever you say." I sneered in turn. Yuri did have rather long eyelashes and they did look a little feminine…Not that I was jealous or anything.

"Hey!" He protested realizing what I had said.

"Nope—not talking to you anymore. I'm gonna go and introduce myself and my wonderful name to the others if you don't mind." I said getting up from my spot next to the water. "Have fun hauling that fish back on your own, sucker." I said to Yuri over my shoulder as I left him behind with the cow-sized fish at his side.

* * *

...

With a little insistence I ended up helping Precht with the fire and Warrod returned from his gathering soon after. That was when I finally told them that I remembered my name. Warrod was the only one of the two who seemed happy at the fact while Precht himself remained indifferent. I sat around the campfire with my new companions, munching on a small meal of roasted wild mushrooms and fish. The forest was shrouded in darkness now with nothing but the stars and the moon to provide light.

"You're sure you don't recall anything else?" Precht asked.

I glanced up at him and shook my head.

"No, sorry."

"No need to apologize for something you can't help." Warrod said reassuringly. "One step at a time is good enough." Over the past hour, the trio had been telling me about Fiore and some of its history and trying to jog my memory. Absolutely none of it sounded familiar. And at one point I even thought that they were pulling my leg when they were trying to convince me that magic was real, something that I knew was logically impossible.

But apparently it _was_ real.

"So you three said you're treasure hunters, right?" I asked trying to change the topic.

"Yeah, you bet!" Yuri said.

"And we've traveled to many different places too." Warrod added.

"That sounds like it's a lot of fun," I said thoughtfully. Exploring new places, going in search of treasure—it all sounded like a bedtime story to me, but it also sounded fun. Based off of what I was thinking, I figured you couldn't do something like that where I was from.

"It's not just fun and games," Precht cut in as if reading my thoughts. "It's very dangerous and not to be taken lightly." He turned his head slightly to look directly at me. "As soon as we reach the next town, we'll be leaving you in the care of the locals; they should be able to help you from there."

"Oh, um, okay." I said not sure of how else to respond to his words. I wasn't about to argue against it simply because the group had been very nice to me. I'll admit though, the idea of leaving them, regardless of how short a time I've known them, was a little scary and maybe a bit…sad.

"That being said, we should all get some rest. We've got a lot of distance to cover tomorrow." Precht stated as he leaned against the tree behind him.

I merely nodded my head in reply as I leaned back against the ground. It wasn't too comfortable, but after everything that had happened today, I wasn't about to complain. Staring up at the many stars in the sky, my eyes began to close on me.

Soon, I entered a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

...

The next morning seemed to fly by quickly.

The four of us got up and broke camp and we set off at a breakneck pace through the woods with the morning sun in our faces. Only hours later, we made it to the town that Precht was talking about and I found the only three people I knew were leaving me with other complete strangers. It had only been a little over a day with them, but it felt like all the security I felt was going to walk away with them.

I was going to be back at square one.

"It was nice meeting you Finn. Hopefully we can meet under better circumstances next time." Warrod said to me as we shook hands.

"Yeah, see you around I guess," Yuri added.

"Thanks for everything; I was lucky to have met you guys." I spoke with bittersweet smile.

Without uttering a word, Precht was the first to walk out the town gate along the dirt road with Yuri and Warrod following suit behind him. As I watched their retreating figures, I felt my gut knot up. Something was telling me that what I was doing right now was wrong. I needed to stay close by them and not wander off on my own. Even if I had only known them for a day, I felt safe around them.

I didn't want them to go.

"Is something the matter, child?" an elderly woman asked me. "You should probably head inside and get washed up. You're not going to get your memory back by sitting here."

I paused in thought at the woman's words.

They held a truth in them; if I knew that I wasn't from around there, what good would it do for me to stay put in a small town? I needed to find things to jog my memory, something that I wasn't going to find by moving into a town in the middle of nowhere in the woods. And I found myself itching to go somewhere, itching to follow the very group that just left.

That felt like something that I needed to do, though I couldn't answer why.

I turned my gaze to the lady and then I smiled. Dipping my head slightly, I began to reply. "Thanks for being willing to help me, but…" I trailed off as I turned my head back in the direction the treasure hunters went. "I don't belong here."

On an impulse, my feet sprang to life and I found myself bolting away from the small nameless town. The elderly lady let loose a cry of surprise, but I didn't look back at all. Kicking up a trail of dust behind me, I set off fast down the dirt road, hoping to catch up with the group. The only way I figured that I could get my memory back was if I stuck with them.

Sprinting over what seemed to be the distance of a football field, I could once again see the backs of my companions.

"Hey!" I shouted with the air I could spare. "Yuri! Warrod! Precht! Wait up!" I saw the three of them turn around to look back at me before they stopped to wait. Moments later I found myself standing in front of them; all had a look of surprise on their faces. Still catching my breath, I started to explain myself. "Look, I don't care about the dangers, I most certainly don't give a rat's ass about the treasure, but I'm coming with you guys!"

With that said, I straightened myself and found a smile working its way up to my face. Turning, I began to walk in the direction they were heading; that was when I finally realized that they weren't following. I turned around to find all three of them looking at me questioningly—well, Precht may have been rather irritated.

"What?" I said to them. Their faces remained frozen in the same expression and I shrank back slightly. "Okay, okay, I know it seems a bit forceful, but something just tells me I need stay with you guys. I think that I would have a better chance at remembering things than if I stayed in that old town back there. It might be a long stretch, but let me prove to you that I can carry my on weight. Hell, maybe I can even help you guys out with your travels? I'll stay out of the way of your treasure hunting of course, but I suppose the choice is up to you..."

I scratched the back of my head in nervousness. It never occurred to me that my offer might be rejected, but now that possibility sat at the front of my mind. I hadn't known them for that long yet there I was basically imposing myself on them. The chances that they would say yes were very slim at best. I looked at them as silence settled over us.

"Eh, it would allow for quicker set up at camp," Yuri said with a shrug. "She could also carry extra supplies."

"We would need to gather more," Precht noted.

"And she could watch the camp. It would be easier for us to get stuff that way," Yuri countered. The two men debated back and forth for a few minutes, leaving Warrod and I on the side, our heads going back and forth between who was speaking. A good sign was the fact that Warrod nodded his head now and again to what Yuri said.

Finally, he turned back to Precht and cut into the conversation, adding his own input. "I think it's fine if she comes along," He said reassuringly. "There doesn't seem to be any harm in it."

"Fine," Precht grumbled before he started walking again. "As soon as something goes awry, we're leaving her, and that doesn't include another courtesy drop off at another town."

"Yes!" I said pumping a fist. "I won't let you guys down!"

…

And that was the beginning of the long journey that was to come.

* * *

...

 _One final note:_ And that's the first chapter. Please let me know your thoughts about it so far and leave a review or comment!

~BlueCampanula


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: A New Companion Joins the Fray**

* * *

 **...**

"It's too hot out…" I mumbled in dismay. Unbearably hot rays from the sun were beating down on my face, and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back and soaking into my shirt. I could tell that Precht was rolling his eyes at my statement even if he wasn't directly facing me and I glared at his back. The fact that he still wore a heavy cloak over his shoulders only made me feel warmer. How he could still be wearing it was beyond me.

"I actually don't think this is too bad. The sea breeze is so refreshing," Warrod said stretching his arms out in content.

It had been two weeks since I ran after the treasure hunting trio and decided to join them and it had been two weeks since I woke up with no memories of my own. While things haven't changed much, I still couldn't help but feel happy at the moment; I had my health and I wasn't alone anymore. I even found myself trying to gather and create new memories too, trying not to linger much on what I was missing.

Despite the fact that I had only known them for such a short time, I was beginning to find my niche within the group; I felt safe around them, even with Precht occasionally shooting me glares of suspicion. Hey, what could I say? I couldn't blame the guy; I know that I would be highly suspicious too if a random stranger claiming to have amnesia started hanging around me, especially if I was a treasure hunter.

Currently, the four of us were cramped in a small rowboat in the ocean somewhere off the southeastern shore of Fiore, having left from the small ship that we rented. Warrod and I were both sitting opposite of Precht who was the one rowing at the moment and Yuri was lying back close behind us with his legs kicked up on the rear seat. A majority of the rowboat was empty except for a few of the supplies we brought with us to spend the day searching on the island.

Needless to say that after being confined in that same boat now for nearly two days of travel, I had the strongest urge to run around. My whole body felt so numb and I was so drowsy from sleeping the entire way there that I barely noticed when we disembarked from the ship on the tiny rowboat.

"There it is. Don't you want to see it" Warrod asked me, breaking through the silence. I perked my head up at the sound of his voice and saw him pointing off in the distance. Squinting my eyes, I followed the direction of his finger straight over the blue waters to the horizon line. In the distance I could faintly see what looked suspiciously like…

"A giant tree?" I questioned in disbelief. Sure enough, not too far off in the distance was a towering tree reaching up towards the sky. I must have been way too sleepy and far too hot to notice it when we were this close.

"Yeah, isn't it exciting?" Warrod said clasping his hands together. As I watched him I could practically see the stars in his eyes. "To finally see it in person after hearing so many stories!"

"Oh yeah, so you guys said you wanted to find some sort of gem there…The Tenrou Jade? What's the story behind that exactly?" I asked out of curiosity.

"The Tenrou Jade," Precht spoke up, "is an S-ranked treasure. It was guarded by a small village for generations until recently."

"Until recently?" I repeated. "What happened to the village?"

"Based off of the rumors we heard the whole entire village and its inhabitants…" Warrod trailed off.

"—were destroyed." Precht finished.

"Well that's unfortunate." I felt a frown forming on my face. "And no one survived?"

"The island should be completely empty except for the wildlife and ruins; it's been at least seven years since it was destroyed. And you could say that their misfortune is our luck. With the Tenrou Jade, we'd have quite the fortune at hand."

I picked up on one particular word.

"Ruins you say?" I immediately forgot my sadness as it was replaced by excitement. "Oh, uh…do you think we can swing by the ruins too? I wanna see them!" Precht turned to me and raised his eyebrow a little at my reaction. In response, I tried putting up the best smile on my face that I could. Out of the corner of my eye, Warrod was struggling to hide his laugh.

"It'll probably be on our way there anyways. Just don't wander off."

"Yes!" I said jumping to my feet. The boat swayed underneath the sudden imbalance and I suddenly found myself with my arms flailing through the air instead of jumping for joy. My heart sank as I started to sway dangerously off to the side and a brief thought crossed my mind: I was about to fall overboard and I would probably take the rest of the little dinghy with me.

In the blink of an eye, it was Warrod who came to my rescue. He reached up and snatched my hand and steadied me. "Careful," he called out. With his help, I managed to place both of my feet firmly back on the wood of the small row boat.

"Ah… whoops," I sweatdropped, "almost tipped the boat there."

Precht sighed at my obvious remark.

"Just sit down and we'll be there soon."

That man never smiled much, did he?

Heeding his words, I quickly sat back down and tucked my arms in to make sure I didn't move so much again. Traveling with the three had been interesting so far. Over the past two weeks we passed through several towns and saw many sights that I had never seen before. And the group started to accept me, even if it was slowly at first. Yuri was the first to come around with Warrod close behind. I couldn't well speak for Precht, but I felt like I was making progress with him too.

Around the campfires they would tell me stories of their adventures, spitting out the funniest and strangest stories I'd ever heard. And though they didn't tell me necessarily everything about their jobs or missions, I got used to hanging around them and helping where I could. It made me happy to fit into something, to be able to call something familiar.

And it was during the last few nights that they decided to let me in on their next goal. Well, more like Yuri blurted it out in excitement. That of course resulted in a menacing glare from Precht, but nonetheless resulted in a short explanation. Before I knew it we had set off in a small boat heading for some island off the coast.

In less than thirty minutes of being on the small rowboat, I was splashing my way through shallow waters to the shore of Tenrou Island. The sand squished underneath my feet with every step and the water itself felt amazing after being exposed to the dry, summer-like air for hours. Precht and Warrod had apparently decided to stay in the boat and wait to get closer to the shore while I almost jumped headfirst into the water. Warrod laughed at my actions while Precht gave me his judgmental stare of disapproval—the kill joy.

Reaching the dry sand, I reluctantly left behind the salty waters and sat down to put my shoes back on; I had been carrying them to keep them dry. After successfully sliding them back on my feet, I looked back up just in time to see Warrod and Precht tying up the boat to a small stake. It felt like a summer vacation.

"So this is Tenrou Island, eh?" Warrod said taking in the new surroundings. "The air feels good; I guess I could live here. Imagine all the kind of plants that are out here? I could take weeks to gather samples of them all."

I stared at him curiously.

"What?"

"How can you say that so easily?" I asked dumbfounded. "Look, can you feel the heat radiating off of my hair? I could fry an egg with it! It's obviously way too hot to live here, let alone search for plants all day. Unless you were planning on becoming 'one with nature' which, in that case, be my guest." I started tugging on the strands of my hair; it really was hot to the touch. Warrod chuckled at my weak crack for a joke.

"We're not here to play around, you two." Precht scolded us.

"It's just a joke," Warrod said with a smile.

"Yeah, you could lighten up a little," I added. "Besides, the air is kinda strange here." That was something I wasn't joking about. I found myself commenting on it numerous times to the three treasure hunters, but they normally brushed it aside. While I was starting to get used to how the air felt, there was something strange about the island that I just couldn't place and it was bugging me; a certain nip in the air.

Precht looked like he was about to say something when a loud splash behind us cut him off before he had the chance to say it. All three of us directed our attention back to the small rowboat in an instant. It appeared that Yuri had finally woken up from his nap…and it also appeared that he fell out of the boat too, nearly taking half of its' contents with him. Upon seeing that, I struggled to choke down the laughter that was in my throat and started to forget my previous thoughts. And here I thought that I was going to be the one to capsize the small boat.

"Ah! We made it!" The blond shouted as he resurfaced.

"The noisy one's awake." Warrod said with a smirk.

"I figured he'd be the one to tip it over," Precht grumbled in response. "Finn, make sure he fishes every last bit of the supplies out of the water and that he remembers to bring the dinghy this time." He turned away and started to walk off towards the edge of the forest with Warrod not too far behind. They disappeared just moments after Yuri managed to reach the shore. I turned away from them and met Yuri halfway, helping him pull the boat up.

"Hey, aren't you guys gonna wait a second?" I called after them.

"That's what you're there for, oh weather detector!" Warrod's voice carried back. I sighed a little as Yuri finally walked up next to me, a smirk on his face; the three treasure hunters still didn't seem to understand what it was that I was experiencing…That or they were just used to whatever it was.

"Alright then, let's go," I said eagerly as I turned to Yuri, "I want to see the ruins already!" Before I took another step, my gaze was drawn upward and I got a good look at the tree. What I saw, however, caused me to stop in my tracks completely. Yuri, who had started walking in front of me stopped short when he realized I wasn't moving. He turned around and walked back and gave me a funny look, but I didn't respond. Ever so slowly, he circled around behind me and craned his neck over my shoulder to try and see what I was staring at.

"What?" Yuri asked in confusion. "I don't see anything."

I looked at him and wondered how it was that he couldn't see it. I was staring at the very top of the Tenrou tree. It wasn't a tree at all, but instead it was hewn from the earth itself; stone that was covered in foliage. It was an island on top of an island. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead in disbelief. The tree itself defied what logic I knew in my mind.

"How is that even possible?" I mumbled. "No, it isn't possible." I answered myself after quickly mulling it over.

"What?" Yuri repeated impatiently.

"You don't see it? The top of the tree—it's supporting another part of the island. That's not logical."

"That's what this is about?" He asked scratching his head. "Well, maybe not where you might be from. But trust me when I say that I've seen stranger things. Now can we get going?" Yuri answered casually.

"Hey, are you two coming?" Precht called out to us. The both of us turned in the direction of Precht's voice. A smile graced my lips when I noticed that Warrod and Precht where both standing at the edge of the woods waiting for us. They didn't leave us behind after all.

"Yeah, be right there!" I said as I quickly ran in their direction.

Yuri merely shook his head and started walking after me.

"Took you two long enough." Precht said as we reached him.

"Yeah, yeah," Yuri said waving his hand, "Now let's go get the Tenrou Jade!"

* * *

...

"Yuri certainly took of fast enough," I observed as I held out my arms and balanced myself.

"Yeah, well, that's Yuri for ya: Always in a rush to get the treasure no matter what." Warrod said with a sigh.

"Do you think he's found anything interesting? There isn't really that much here." I took another step forward on the remains of a stone wall. The ruins weren't as fascinating as I thought they would be. There was scarcely anything left of the buildings in the small town, with most of them having already been dominated by small saplings and tall grasses. It was as if all the buildings had been burned to their foundations, leaving behind only empty and unstable skeletons.

I eventually thought better of wandering inside of them and opted to stay outside around the what looked like what used to be the main road in the town. All the way at the end of the road a massive stone pillar towered above us with the remains of an old guild hall at its base. And if the signs were anything to go off of, it was once known as the Red Lizard Guild.

But before we had even reached the town, all three of the treasure hunters had decided to split up to search the island for the jade. I ended up sticking closer to Warrod when I realized that Yuri had already taken off. I didn't want to get stuck with Precht deciding that it wouldn't be much fun for either of us. And pretty soon we found our way into the old town.

"Speaking of whom, why don't you go find him? We need to wrap things up," Precht announced as he came around the corner of one of the ruins. There was a strange look in his eyes that I couldn't quite pin down and I jumped down from the wall. Warrod and I made out way over to the man. It had to have been at least an hour since we split up, but it definitely looked like he found something.

"Did you find it?" I asked.

"Maybe," He turned to Warrod before continuing. "I'll need your help to get some things out of the way first."

"Roger that!" Warrod said cheerfully as he began walking off with Precht.

"Ah, hey wait!" I shouted.

"Yuri headed off to the far side of the town," Precht replied without even turning back to look at me. "Make sure you stay out of trouble."

"Oh alright," I said with a pout. "Treating me like I'm a kid… I know I'm at least as old as Yuri!" I seethed under my breath as I turned and began walking off the direction the teen supposedly went. Keeping my word, I did what Precht asked me to do and I set off opposite them. Kicking a stone, I continued to mumble to myself.

"Where exactly am I supposed to look in all this mess?"

Glancing around, it almost made me feel like I was in some sort of maze. Even though the town may have been small, with all the buildings collapsed it was a lot harder to navigate. Combine that with the foliage that grew within seven years and you got yourself a labyrinth. I stopped for a moment when my eye finally caught sight of something after about ten minutes of walking.

"Well what do you know?" I said happily, "Yep, he's definitely gotta be there!" With that said, I started walking towards what I saw. It was a nearly intact stone building that had to be at least three stories tall. Getting closer to it, I decided that regardless of whether or not this was the right place, I was still going to have a look around. It was the most interesting place I'd seen so far.

Without any hesitation I stepped up the stairs to the building. The large oak doors that led into it were intact, and I was surprised by it. Upon further observing, it looked as if the building itself hadn't been touched at all when the town was wiped out. Not a hint of wilderness was present growing in between the bricks and even the glass windows looked clean.

I couldn't stop myself from whistling when I sent a glance at my new surroundings. Pushing open the old doors revealed tons of books, mountains of them. There were plenty of shelves stacked full of all different sizes and kinds of them and it was as if I walked into a candy shop. The building had been an library. My eyes automatically squinted as they adjusted to the dimmer light in the old building. Regardless of how many windows that place may have had, it looked like barely any sunlight filtered through them.

"Well, I don't think I'd find Yuri in this place," I said to myself. "That's too bad."

I didn't really feel that he was much of a book person.

"Wait a second! I didn't even get to finish my freakin' sentence!"

I blinked for a second, slowly registering in my mind what I had just heard. It was Yuri's voice that was bouncing off the walls. "Well…never mind then," I said to myself. I heard his voice again, and this time I tried to follow it. Picking up into a jog, I raced around the corners of the shelves. I ran into a few dead ends until I finally found a stairwell that went down. And when I heard his voice again, I knew I was heading the right direction

It sounded like his voice came from downstairs…And he was talking to someone? I paused at the thought and shook my head. I took one cautious look down the stone steps which were narrow. Reaching a hand out to the wall for support, I slowly began inching my way down one step at a time, all the while keeping silent and listening to Yuri's voice. It was how I knew I went the right direction.

"That kind of stuff doesn't work! That doesn't count again!"

The long flight of stairs gave way into a much larger room with a high ceiling and I took a moment to stare; it was impressive. When another voice reached my ears, my mind focused. I discretely stuck my head around the corner out of curiosity to see who it was Yuri was talking with—or rather yelling at. I found myself staring at Yuri's backside in the high-ceiling room, but leaned out a little more to see past his shoulder. I was utterly surprised when my eyes landed on a young girl. There was somebody else on the island after all and from his voice, Yuri was surprised too.

The girl had the longest blond hair I had ever seen, its length nearly reaching her ankles. Her eyes were a deep shade of green and the way she stood carried confidence and maturity. One thing that I notice in particular about the girl was that she was barefoot despite the long flowing dress she wore. I couldn't help but wonder if she was all alone on the island.

"Additional rule," Yuri said leaning down to the girl's level. "We have to listen to each other till the end of our statements!"

"Got it," The girl said with an unblinking gaze. I felt my lip twitch in amusement. Yuri was obviously being pushed off his rocker by a young girl, especially judging by the edginess in his voice.

"Your turn missy," I heard him say smugly.

"Right." The girl replied.

I quietly sat down on the steps and silently listened to their conversation which sounded like it was about a game of some sorts.

"I will, after this, beat you with a certain word in one round." I heard the girl say confidently. "Please keep your promise to leave this island…And also let me meet the fairies!"

I halted my breathing for a moment to think about what the girl had just said. For one thing, I admired the confidence in her voice. For another though, it sounded like Yuri probably just made a bet with the girl to leave the island if he lost—and also apparently he would take her to some fairies. I blinked my eyes and did a double take.

A distasteful frown instantly formed on my face as I continued thinking; I knew then exactly what game he was playing. He and I had played this exact same game a few nights ago when we had started preparing our campsite. It was all over a small job though, as silly as it was. Yuri had simply convinced me that it was easy to play, but I lost on only my fourth guess.

...

 _"Would you two just solve the problem like reasonable adults?" Precht snapped._

 _"Alright," Yuri responded, a tricky gleam in his eyes. Pulling out a strange cube from his pocket, he held it up proudly. "I challenge you to a game of wits!"_

 _I tilted my head in confusion, while Precht sigh in dismay._

...

I was still a little sour about it.

That, and it had been the one time I had ever seen such a reaction from Precht. It was my first run in too with what Yuri had called his S class ranked treasure, an item that somehow prevented anyone near it from uttering a lie. And I knew that Yuri was playing a little girl now with the same game. If I squinted my eyes hard enough, I could see his hand outstretched. No doubt the accursed little cube was sitting right in the palm of his hands.

Leaning back against the steps, I thought about what I had heard. The girl mentioned something about fairies and in my mind, I was pretty certain fairies didn't exist. It meant that Yuri was promising something he couldn't keep. That told me he was confident that he would win. I felt miffed with the situation. It was one thing to play the game against a stranger like myself, fine. It might have also been cheating since I still had amnesia, but even then that was okay. But using the same trick against a young girl was where the line needed to be drawn.

He really didn't have any boundaries when it came to treasure did he?

Rather than interfere, however, I found myself choosing to stay quiet and to listen to what the girl had to say. Because of how she acted, part of me actually held the hope that she would be able to beat the teen at his own game. And to see something like that, I was willing to wait.

I heard Yuri continue talking as I brought my attention back into focus. "Do you even understand that it is logically impossible for the person asking the question to win on that same turn?" He said in disbelief.

"The logic you refer to is only the product of an inference based on your previously accumulated intelligence and experience," The girl responded. "The truth is far more simple."

I stifled the laughter threatening to pour out of my mouth; Yuri's voice almost sounded like he was unnerved. And with the way the girl was talking, I found myself believing even more that she had a good chance against him. I could imagine that the teen was nearly quaking in his boots around the corner from where I was sitting. Eventually I found myself leaning forward on my knees in anticipation with my breath held as I listened to the girl's next words.

"Since this game has begun, you have blinked fifty seven times."

"What?" Yuri said stunned. I blinked my eyes, realization dawning in my mind. I didn't know why I hadn't thought of such an idea before; it was something well thought out and probably done on the spot too. I could practically hear the gears turning in Yuri's mind as he tried to process her words. A grin wormed its way onto my face as I waited for him to say something, to give even one response to the girl. He spoke asked again, a slight hitch in his breathing.

"What do you mean?!"

That was when I knew that Yuri lost.

"I haven't blinked at all since this game began," I heard the girl say. "It's starting to hurt a little…"

I finally got up from where I was sitting and walked around the corner just as Yuri started to freak out. "You just got burned!" I shouted at him. I watched him jump as he whipped around to face me with his eyes wide. I sauntered up to him, the same grin on my face and my eyes closed in delight. "I know there's no way you would have counted your own blinking, therefore you couldn't answer right with a yes or a no," I taunted. "It serves you right for being stooping so low!"

I easily brushed past Yuri as he started banging his head on a wall. "I can't believe this sort of strategy existed!" he complained. Ignoring his words, I made my way over to the girl.

"You are an absolute genius!" I said with a wide smile on my face as I approached the blonde girl. "Thank you for beating him into place! I'll make sure he'll keep his promise. My name is Finn by the way—it's nice to meet you!"

I couldn't contain my excitement.

"Ah," she said in surprise. "My name's Mavis!" Before my eyes, the serious facade from earlier disappeared and it was suddenly replaced by a friendly smile. She looked like an ordinary girl in that moment.

"Yuri, Finn, what the hell are you two doing?" I heard Precht's voice from out of nowhere.

"Oh, this is quite the library indeed!"

I sent a glance behind me to see Precht standing at the bottom of the steps with his arms crossed and Warrod casually looking around the library.

"Precht, Warrod," Yuri said regaining his senses.

Precht spoke again, seemingly ignoring Mavis' presence. "There's no use staying on this island anymore. We're leaving."

"What?" Yuri yelled.

"Oh, you found the Tenrou Jade?" I asked curiously.

He nodded his head in response. "Well, at least where it was supposed to be."

* * *

…

In a matter of minutes, all five of us had left the library and walked back across the ruins of the town, passing everything and moving closer to the woods. Precht led the way, waking us down a winding path covered with more than just a few weeds. Eventually we came to stand in front of a massive and elegantly crafted stone shrine with a statue standing guard on either side. And in the middle of the shrine itself sat an empty alcove.

"We were beaten to the punch," Precht stated plainly.

"Either treasure hunters or robbers." Warrod added.

So the journey had been for nothing. While it didn't bother me in the slightest, I knew what it meant for the treasure hunters; they would be leaving empty handed, something that I learned was frowned upon especially by their own guild. I watched as Mavis slowly walked forward with her eyes fixated on the empty shrine. Yuri too, was oddly silent.

"We're going to return to the continent for a little while," Precht announced.

"Yeah," Warrod agreed. "Let's reorganize our intel. This treasure is too valuable to give up on."

"I think I know who stole the jade," Mavis suddenly said.

She stood just a few feet now from the stone shrine.

* * *

...

"That Yuri…Does he really intend to bring the little girl along with us?" Precht asked quietly.

"Well, Mavis is a really nice girl—really smart too. I have the feeling that she'll make things a lot more interesting. Besides, I don't think we'd be able to leave her behind even if we wanted to." I said thoughtfully. Warrod, Precht, and I were sitting back on the rowboat. We had arrived back through the forest just as the sun had set and we were waiting on both Yuri and Mavis to meet up with us.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought. Yep, Mavis was coming with us. She was very adamant about wanting to get the Tenrou Jade back and asked us to take her along. Mavis already proved to be quite an intelligent girl and, if anything, I even thought that she would make a better addition to the group than I did. It was like she belonged with them.

"She lives alone on this island. We have no idea who she is," Precht grumbled as he leaned back against a crate to look at the sky.

"Well," I started saying, "you guys did take a huge risk with me, even if you didn't want me along in the first place…and I'm still grateful for that." I mumbled that last part under my breath as I directed my attention back to the shoreline, looking once more at the great Tenrou Tree. I felt my eyelids begin to close as silence ensued; I was so tired from the day's events.

"Oh, hey, they're back," Warrod said. I slid my eyes back open to see both Yuri and Mavis emerging from the woods with Mavis towing a big suitcase behind her. Smiling lazily, I got up from my seat and jumped into the water. I was too tired to care if my boots got wet anymore. The row boat was still in the shallow part of the water, and I slowly trudged my way onto the shore to meet them halfway.

"Hey, you guys finally decided to show up," I said jokingly. Just as I was about to say more however, I paused seeing a look on Yuri's face. It looked like he was trying to send me a message, though I couldn't tell what. His eyes darted discretely to the side while I remained impassive to his attempt.

"Yeah, me and Zera just needed to get some things before leaving with you guys," Mavis said cheerfully. And finally it clicked in my mind what Yuri was trying to say. Out of curiosity I found my eyes quickly and subtly scanning the area around us. There wasn't anyone else around on the beach except for Yuri and Mavis. And just as I was beginning to think that Zera was an imaginary friend, I noticed something...or more like felt.

Standing not far to Mavis' right and further away from Yuri was this strange energy. It was warm and swirling in a continuous pattern and how exactly I knew it was there, i couldn't really explain it. But there was something standing beside Mavis and I found my curiosity of the girl peaked even more. Perhaps her friend wasn't so imaginary.

Who exactly was Mavis?

Yuri sent me another look as if telling me to go along with it and I simply smiled in return. Taking a step closer, I focused my gaze on Mavis' empty left hand side and I threw the blond teen for a loop when I began talking to the air. "Hi Zera. My name is Finn. It's nice to meet another one of Mavis' friends." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuri's expression drop a little and he almost cringed at my actions.

That was before Mavis started laughing; it was light like a bell and it stretched out over the empty beach.

"I'm glad that you think you can get along!" She said turning to 'Zera'.

"Here, let me get that for you." Yuri said as he reached over for her suitcase. "Why don't you two go ahead on the boat? We'll catch up."

"Okay!" Mavis chimed. She quickly splashed into the shallow water towards the boat, leaving me and Yuri behind.

"Thanks for going along with it," Yuri whispered.

I looked at him funny.

"Going along with what?" I asked.

"You know, with—" he stopped abruptly, shooting a quick glance towards the rowboat. "—with Zera," He finished.

"You know," I said raising an eyebrow at him, "there wasn't really anything to go along with. There was something there."

"You mean…you can see her?" he said skeptically.

"Not see…I kinda just felt it, you know? Not really sure how else to describe it, but trust me when I say that there is something there."

"She's a really special kid then." Yuri said sending a glance at Mavis. "Maybe this won't be too bad…" I could definitely agree with that. Mavis was smart, certainly far more than what anyone would expect just by glancing at her; I couldn't help but be reminded of an angel when I looked at her myself.

"They're probably wondering if we're coming or not by now. Let's go." I said happily as I turned back to look at Yuri.

"Hey Finn?" He stopped me.

"What is it?"

"How come you can sense her?"

I pursed my lips in thought for a split second before responding. "Still not sure about that one," I responded carefully. I was still completely and utterly blank up top; sure I could remember all common sense, but all of my memories were seemingly hidden behind a thick haze that I couldn't see through.

"Hm," Yuri hummed thinking to himself. "Maybe after we get our hands on the jade—if you still haven't got your memory back—we can help you out."

"Ah, that sounds like it'll be a fun adventure." I said with a laugh. "Thanks, I appreciate it." I paused for a moment before adding one thing. "Oh, and I'd also like to tag along with you and Mavis; I want to see the fairies too!"

Yuri sighed at that. "I guess we could do that too. Never gonna let that one go, are you?"

"Heh, not a chance."

* * *

...

 _Author's note:_ Second chapter is up! I realize that the first few chapters might serve a little more like an introductory arc before the actual story gets rolling. As such, not as many different things will be taking place until Finn gets her memory back.

Feel free to leave a review or comment to let me know how I'm doing, please and thank you!

~BlueCampanula


	3. Chapter 3

*Edited 7/19/17*

 **Chapter Three: What Follows Uncertainty**

* * *

 **...**

I sat on the deck of the boat, listening to it creak with the gentle tug of the ocean. The sails puffed in and out with the soft breeze; the stifling heat of the day had given way to relaxing warmth. Even the stars in the sky seemed extra bright tonight, especially when I couldn't sleep. Getting off of the Island and back onto the boat, I found myself thinking about a lot of things; who I was, where I was from. Mavis' presence was probably the reason for my mind's unrest too. She was a girl all alone, just like I was. No family, no friends—except for Zera of course, but she was imaginary.

It made me feel almost sorry for her.

"Having trouble sleeping?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned my head away from the night sky. Mavis stood a few feet away from me, still barefoot and wearing a tank top with a colorful skirt. "Yeah," I said quietly answering her.

"Me too," She said, "Mind if I join you?"

I smiled a little.

"Not at all."

She plopped down on the deck beside me and looked up at the sky as well. "This is all so exciting, don't you think?" She said without glancing at me. I hummed in response as I turned my attention back on the night sky.

A few minutes of comfortable silence went by before I decided to speak up.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Mavis replied, turning her focus on me.

"You and Zera have been all alone on that island for a while, right? Do you…miss your family? And your other friends?" I asked carefully. That was something that I couldn't help but wonder about. Mavis Vermilion was only a little girl when her home was destroyed. With only an imaginary friend for company, how did she ever survive by herself? Did she ever stop to think about the ones she'd lost?

"Ever since Red Lizard was attacked and the town was destroyed, it was only me and Zera. We had each other and that was enough. I never had any other friends and as for my family…well, Papa and Mama passed before then. But I still keep them—all of them—in my heart." Mavis clenched a fist to her chest as a small smile graced her lips.

My heart sank at her words and I found a slight frown tugging at my lips. For someone so young to have gone through so much, I couldn't understand how she made it through that. Yuri was right; she was definitely special. She had a good heart, a good spirit. There was no doubt in my mind that she was destined to do great things. "Hey, can I be one of your friends then?" I asked light-heartedly.

"Of course!" She said turning back to me with a gleeful grin. "Now can I ask you something in return, Finn?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"Why is it that you asked me that?" The playful grin on her face had been dropped and was replaced with a calculated expression of curiosity. I looked down and began fiddling with my fingers, trying to find the answer. There weren't any words I could think of as to answer why I had asked her.

"I, um…"

Hugging my legs, I leaned my chin on my knees, shaking my head.

"Yuri said earlier that you don't have any memories," Mavis spoke softly. "You were left alone like me and Zera."

I blinked for a moment before turning my gaze to her.

"I can't really remember anything—about either my family of my friends for that matter, but…I'm still happy," I admitted shamefully. "Is that wrong?"

My mind was empty. By all rights, I should have been terrified out of my wits; sad and desperate to find my memories and get back home. Any normal person would feel the same way. The more I thought of it though, the more I realized that it was the opposite. I was content. For some reason I didn't mind the gaps in my memories at all. If anything, in the past few weeks, it had come and gone as an afterthought. Was that what was truly bothering me?

"You still think about them, right? That isn't really a bad thing." Mavis said confidently. "Just because you can't see them or remember them, that doesn't mean that they aren't there. If you keep them in your heart, they will always be with you."

Letting her words wash over me, we sat in silence once more. I sniffled a little before reaching a hand up to my face; there were tears in my eyes. This girl who I had barely known for a day had helped me out more than she knew. In time, I would be able to remember my family, but until then I would be happy enough with knowing they were out there somewhere—and probably looking for me too.

"Mavis?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

...

"Whoa! Amazing!" Mavis said in awe as she continued walking ahead of us.

Our group had finally made it back to Hargeon and the little port-town was as lively as ever. Vendors moved about with carts, displaying their wares as countless people milled about doing their daily business with the occasional sighting of some kids playing tag. And the docks were as packed as before, promising another prosperous day for the small town.

"Look! Look! It's a fisherman!" Mavis pointed out enthusiastically.

"So it looks like you two have really never been off that island. I'm pretty surprised," Yuri said to the girl, trying to make a conversation. When we had made it back to the ship, he had told he told Precht and Warrod about Zera, making sure that Mavis wasn't around to hear. With all of us there, he made us agree to keep quiet about the girl being imaginary and to 'play along' with it. I was really surprised too when Precht agreed to it. I had him figured as a strictly no-bullshit kind of person. And it was working out wonderfully so far, that is until Precht seemed to snap with Yuri's little conversation, and I wasn't the only one to realize that.

"What's the matter, Precht?" Warrod asked.

He turned away from us and began walking down the corner of a different road, with other people moving out of his way. "Some mission," He scoffed, "All we have to show for it are a pair of random, unreliable brats."

"Oi?!"

"Hey!" I snapped at the same time as Warrod. Precht could only have been including me too in that statement.

"I'm going to search the town for information on Blue Skull. Get an inn," He commanded.

"Hey, if that's the case, then allow me to accompany you!" Mavis spoke up, apparently turning away from her conversation with Zera. The look on Precht's face was priceless. His eyes had widened and he was left almost speechless as she trotted over to his side. I didn't know what to laugh at; the unassuming smile on Mavis' face, or the cowed expression on Precht's.

"What?" He nearly sputtered. As if realizing his own actions, the man schooled his features back into place except for a slight twitch around his nose. Shaking his head, he continued walking and began to leave us behind without a second glance. Mavis started after him too, only glancing over her shoulder to say her goodbyes.

"Zera, wait at the inn for me!" She shouted.

"Oh man," Yuri said with a chuckle.

"You can say that again," I commented, "Precht looks like he's having a field day."

"We should probably locate an inn now," Warrod suggested.

"Oh, hey, you guys really wouldn't get in that much trouble from a bad hunt, right?" I asked curiously as I fell into step with them.

"Nah," Yuri responded first, "He's just impatient, that's all."

"Not as much as you though," Warrod added slyly.

"Yeah, I—hey!"

* * *

...

I threw myself down on the closest bed as we entered the small room. A muffled sigh escaped my lips as my muscles relaxed. It was nice to lie down on an actual bed, no matter how hard it was; compared to sleeping on a forest floor in a thin bed roll or on the ship in a swaying hammock, it was a lot more comfortable.

Warrod and Yuri sat down at the small table in the corner of the room before getting deep into a quiet conversation. I started to listen at first but quickly found myself being lulled to sleep. And slowly I began to lose interest in trying to hear what they were saying and my eyes began to slip shut. The events of the days passed were still taking a toll on my mind.

But right as I almost completely fell into sleep, I could faintly feel something stirring in the distance.

Flicking my eyes back open, I sat up on the bed and sent a glance at the window. I sat completely still for a moment as I tried to focus on the strange feeling. There was something nearby, but I didn't know what it was. In the back of my mind I linked it to what I felt with Zera around, but quickly brushed it off; it was starkly different. Sliding to the edge of the bed I got up and walked to the door, placing my hand on its worn metal handle.

"Hey, where are you going?" Warrod asked.

I looked over my shoulder to see both him and Yuri sending questioning glances at me.

"I'm gonna go find Mavis and Precht." I lied.

At my words, Warrod and Yuri shared a brief glance before coming to some sort of a silent agreement.

"Don't get lost, okay?" Yuri said to me.

"Yeah, yeah." I smiled and replied waving off his comment.

After carefully shutting the door behind me, my feet directed me down the stairs and out of the inn into the streets of Hargeon. The sun was starting to set on the short buildings over the Horizon as I made my way out. The streets themselves were now almost completely empty of the people it contained earlier.

And as I walked, I silently thought back to the first time I had been to the small town.

...

" _This is Hargeon?" I asked uncertainly._

" _Yeah!" Yuri answered first. "Not what you were expecting,huh?"_

" _It's…Small," I said absentmindedly._

" _What?!" Yuri exclaimed from his spot beside me. "This is one of the biggest towns I've ever been in though!"_

" _What he means is aside from our largest cities," Warrod said trying to be helpful. "Interesting," he said mostly to himself, "Could this mean that you're from a city?"_

 _I glanced around at the sunbathed streets, taking in every detail I could see; did any of it seem the slightest bit familiar to me?_ _I found my answer to be a no._ _In fact, I felt that I had never seen a place like this little town before. The vendors hanging around in the streets, all of the people milling about; it all seemed so foreign._ " _I don't know, but it doesn't seem familiar. Actually, I don't think I've ever been in a town like this before." I said voicing my thoughts to my two companions._

" _Curious." Warrod commented._

" _Well then, while Precht's off to find us a boat, I guess that means I'll have to show you around!" Yuri chimed eagerly._

" _Just don't get lost and be back at the usual place by eight."Warrod said._

" _You're not coming?" Yuri asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice._

" _Nah. There's something else I wanted to check out."_

 _Yuri's face dropped into a blank expression. "Does it have something to do with trees again?"_

 _Warrod simply nodded his head in response._

" _Kay then. I won't stop ya."_

 _While Yuri and Warrod had been talking, I drifted over to a poster that was plastered on the side of a nearby building._

" _Watcha looking at?" Yuri said looking over my shoulder. "A firework show?!"_

 _Judging by his voice, he sounded as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning; I had never heard him that excited._

" _It says that it's tomorrow though…" I pointed out._

 _I turned around in time to see his expression deflate moments before he covered it up with a cheerful grin._

" _Eh, no worries! I was gonna be too busy anyhow! Now let's go!" He said eagerly._

…

I felt myself being pulled by whatever the strange force was like it were a magnet. And on impulse I was following it with a growing curiosity. There was a small voice in the back of my mind however that whispered to me, giving me a quiet warning. But rather than turning around, I kept walking at the same pace I was and held my focus on locating the source of the force.

Following along the twists and turns of the street, I followed it as it pulled in different directions. It was like a pillar of light that stood out in the middle of the darkness...Or perhaps the opposite could be said about it. Either way it remained plain to me as day, almost prickling at my skin. And it was moving away from the inn too.

As I turned down one of the more narrow streets, I slowly started to feel the energy's presence get stronger. Not slowing down my pace, my legs acted as if they were on autopilot, automatically carrying me. And with each step closer, I slowly felt my legs start to shake. The air had become almost suffocating now, but I wanted to keep going.

"Finn?" A voice called out.

"Eh?"

Snapping out of my trance, I blinked my eyes. I turned behind me to see that I had walked right past both Mavis and Precht without noticing them at all. The two of them had stopped in the middle of the street and were staring at me with equally puzzled looks. I smiled sheepishly before finally greeting them. "Oh, um, there you guys are."

I had been so distracted in my walk that I had walked right by my the two without even batting an eye. I rubbed my head as I briefly turned my gaze away from them, hastily glancing further down the street. Wherever the source of the strange energy was, I felt it fading and fast. There was nothing more I could do at this point without getting myself lost in the process; I already realize that I had gone too far from the inn and I didn't know the way back.

"What was it that you were so focused on?" Mavis asked.

"Ah, Nothing, I was just looking for you guys, but I guess I must have spaced out. I take it we know where to go next?" I asked changing the subject. Mavis seemed to notice right away that I was following something. Falling into step with them I tried to act as if nothing happened and we started walking back in the direction of the inn.

"Magnolia," Precht responded. "It's a town west of here."

"Huh, that's interesting." I said stopping my walk.

"What is it?" Precht asked with slight curiosity laced in his voice.

"Are all the towns here named after flowers?" I asked thoughtfully.

Precht's face dropped into an unamused scowl.

"That's it?" He said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I think so." Mavis chimed, ignoring Precht. "I've seen them listed on the maps; you're right about the names."

"I wonder what made them choose that pattern?" I said thinking aloud Precht groaned at my question; something told me that he was having a rough day. Mavis started to answer my question as I quietly tried focusing my attention on the strange feeling from earlier; what I had sensed had gotten further and further away.

And within a matter of seconds, it completely disappeared.

* * *

...

It was an odd thing for one to realize that they were in a dream. It starts with a bit of confusion and then quickly subsides into wonder.

That was where I found myself.

It was as if I was dropped into the middle of nowhere; the sky above me and the ground below cast off the faintest shadows but refused to show me anything else. I didn't know how I got there, much like how I couldn't recall why I had woken up in the rope trap. Unsure of what to do I ventured forward, the sound of twigs snapping at my feet and the cool wind touching my face.

That same sensation from before, I felt it again; it was pulling me in. That was when things started to get even more strange. I suddenly realized that I was talking to someone, but I didn't know when I started or even what I was saying; it was muffled and incoherent. Or it was somebody else talking; I couldn't tell. "You're not from here." I distinctly heard the voice say.

Struggling to dig my own voice out of the haze, I finally managed an answer, one that I could hear with my own ears.

"I don't know."

The voice remained silence and I kept thinking about his words. That was when I realized that what he had said wasn't a question, it was a statement. My mind started racing as I began to wonder whether or not this person knew something I didn't. I figured that it was something in my own memory trying to tell me something I couldn't remember.

"Do you maybe know who I am?" I asked eagerly. But the voice didn't respond; the only thing I could hear was the sound of the wind. Blindly I reached out a hand, trying to search for the presence that was there earlier. I stumbled when my hand only grabbed onto thin air in front of me. "Are you...still there?" I asked timidly.

The dream was becoming eerie.

All of a sudden, I started to hear strange whispers. They seemed to be coming from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Sitting down I curled up into a small form, laying my head on my knees and covering it with my arms. I rocked back and forth slightly, mumbling to myself in hopes that the darkness would disappear. It only seemed to strengthen and i found my breath being stifled by the air; the energy was slowly choking me, closing around me.

And then a familiar voice called out to me.

"Finn?!"

Lifting my head, I felt hope return to me. Though I couldn't see I turned my head in the direction of the voice.

"Yuri?" I asked unsure of myself.

"Hey, I'm right in front of you!"

With that, I felt two hands shaking my shoulders.

"Come on, snap out of it!" He commanded.

* * *

…

I snapped my eyes open with a sharp inhale.

"Geeze, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

I blinked my eyes slowly as I took in my surroundings; it wasn't the inn. I could feel rocks digging into my shins where I sat. It was in the middle of the road, and the town of Hargeon wasn't anywhere within my sight. Rubbing my eyes, I finally looked to Yuri who was kneeling in front of me with a concerned look on his face. "What just happened?" I mumbled groggily.

"You freakin' sleep walked out of the town, that's what happened! We only knew you were gone because Zera told Mavis and we practically scrambled to find you." Yuri responded with relief crossing his features.

I winced a little. "Sorry."

"What are you saying sorry for? Not like you could help it anyways," He said offering me a hand up. "Come on, we gotta find the others. It's about time we leave for Magnolia already."

Gratefully, I took his hand and found myself standing upright once more.

"That was the weirdest dream I ever had. I could have sworn that I was..." I trailed off in thought. "Hey, this is going to sound strange, but did you see anybody else here?" I couldn't help but wonder how much of my dream had been real. Everything that I did in the dream had matched up with what I did and where I ended up. And that voice sounded real too.

Yuri hesitated for a moment putting a hand on his chin in thought. "Hmmm. Well, there wasn't anybody around, but you did seem to be mumbling something. Kinda scary, ya know?"

"Oh," I sagged a little in disappointment. "I guess we should find the others then."

As it turned out, I had walked nearly a half mile down the dirt road leading out of Hargeon. Ironically enough, it was the way that we would have to travel out to get to Magnolia. We met back up with the others in a small park closer to the center of town, a fancy water fountain sitting in the middle of it. Being early in the morning, few people were moving about. The sun itself was slowly creeping higher into the sky.

Mavis was the first one to spot our approach. She darted over to us, shouting at the others. Warrod and Precht followed her at a more sedate pace. "We thought we'd lost you!" Mavis said as she came to a stop. "I told you guys that Zera was right!"

"I guess that means we're ready to go then," Warrod announced.

"Alright, let's get to it!" Yuri said. I chuckled at the waves of energy rolling off the guy. It was early in the morning and I wasn't even fully awake yet; in fact, I actually felt pretty tired. I suppose that some people tended to be more motivated than others, especially when it came to treasure. That was Yuri for you in a nutshell. I watched said person and Mavis start walking, ready to start the day's adventure.

Just as I started to tail after them, I was stopped.

"Here."

I glanced behind me to see Precht holding out what looked like a simple dagger in a sheath. Following the hand that it was attached to, I found myself staring at the man in silent question; I wasn't sure what to make of it, but Precht merely nudged my hand with the blade. "Is this for me?" I asked pointing to myself. In response, Precht placed the dagger in my hands before he continued walking.

I blinked.

"Hey! I don't know how to use this thing!" I said in alarm. What in the world he expected me to do with a dagger was beyond me. I knew that we were possibly going up against a mage guild, but was Precht expecting me to actually hurt somebody? I didn't have the slightest clue and nor did I believe that I even had some skill in wielding such a weapon.

"Starting today, you'll need to learn how to use it. If you plan on wandering off as you did, you'll need some way to protect yourself." He muttered under his breath.

I gaped at his statement, the words slowly registering in my head. A sly smirk crept across my face as I hurried to catch up with him. "Aww, you really do care!" I cooed, cradling the dagger in my hands. "You know, you remind me of an uncle that I may or may not have," I teased. Yuri looked back at us with a curious gaze. In response I held up the dagger and grinned. Yuri made a face and turned away, but not before a laugh escaped his mouth.

He didn't protest my words, but instead continued his pace. Precht was...accepting of me. This was probably the first sign of it I had ever seen and it made me wonder what else he was hiding behind the frown on his face. That or he just really wasn't a morning person. Even if it was the latter idea, it still didn't wipe the smile off my face; I was just happy and I would keep telling myself that.

Despite all the uncertainty I faced, I was still undeniably happy.

And things would only get better…

Right?

* * *

...

Author's Note: Finally got around to posting another chapter! Nothing exciting really happens in this chapter, just a bit of character and relationship building (And perhaps a future part of the plot?!). I'll admit, it is a little on the short side, but I couldn't help it.

Feel free to leave any reviews or comments.

~BlueCampanula


	4. Chapter 4

_*Edited 7/20/2017*_

 **Chapter Four:** **Delusion Dispelled**

* * *

...

The first few days of travelling with the treasure hunters had been grueling.

They tended to travel at a brisk pace and covered a fair amount of distance in a single day. I had stayed silent in the beginning, not wanting to openly complain about their methods in front of them, and it had taken awhile before my body became used to it. We would pitch camp at night and then rise early to continue the trek. Things had changed quite a bit since then, and I came to realize that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Since starting out of Hargeon, I wasn't sure how many days had gone by, but our little group had been walking for what had seemed like forever. Perhaps it was because our group had gotten so big. The scenery had scarcely changed and the only things we could see passing by were the tall trees that blocked out the harsh sunlight above us. Warrod and Precht didn't seem at all bothered by the slow progression of our journey while Mavis was having the time of her life. Yuri on the other hand...

"Man, how far is Magnolia!?" he blurted out impatiently.

"Took the words out of my mouth," I grumbled in agreement.

"We've yet a day of walking—" Precht started.

"Of course, " I complained with a sigh.

It wasn't that I was tired of walking. Heck, it was something I felt I could do all day. No, it was more the fact that Precht had been trying to hammer blade lessons into my head before we got anywhere near Magnolia. Every morning that I got up, every break that we took, I had to go through some sort of lesson. That was what I was tired of. And my knack for a blade sucked. I knew that before Yuri even bothered pointing it out.

"Why don't we just camp here for tonight?" Warrod kindly suggested.

"I'm all for it!" I immediately shouted before Precht rejected the idea. I turned to Mavis to silently ask for support. As it turned out that wasn't necessary.

"Let's all camp together!" She said throwing her hands in the air in excitement.

And before I knew it, everyone was off. Yuri set out to find firewood, Precht went hunting, and Warrod went searching for edible plants; all the meanwhile I stayed behind to help with set up—constructing a small pit for the fire and checking stock. It had only taken me a day to pick my task up. I didn't have the stomach to kill an animal and, after trying to forage once, found that I could not tell the difference between a mushroom and a poisonous one. The final strike had been when I lost the game against Yuri; he didn't want to be stuck setting up the camp and was more than excited to shove the task off onto me.

And now Mavis was here too, helping by keeping watch on our little campsite. She sat a little ways away while began clearing away some of the dead leaves and brush for the fire.

"Finn," A voice said grabbing my attention. I jumped before glancing to see Precht standing behind me. Giving him a questioning gaze, the man only nodded his head in response for me to follow him. Without waiting for my own response, he turned and started walking back the way he came. Standing up, I brushed off my hands before I began to follow him.

"Hey Mavis, I'll be back in just a second!" I said cheerfully.

Mavis sent a wave in my direction before I walked off. That was when I mumbled to myself. "And now Precht probably wants me to skin an animal…someone save me." The only reason why I could think that he wanted me to follow him was because of hunting or…knife lessons. My stomach churned at the thought; he wouldn't make me practice on a dead animal, would he?

"No, I did not call you out here to skin an animal." He said blandly reading the expression on my face. "Yuri said that you could sense Zera. Is that true?"

I tilted my head in confusion. That was what this was about?

"Yeah, but…" I trailed off. Recently, and for some reason I couldn't explain, I began to 'feel' the girl's presence less and less.

"Focus," Precht said snapping his fingers to get my attention. "Mavis can use illusion magic."

"What?!" I said awestruck. "Wait a second, what does that have to do with anything? Eh, scratch that; why didn't you mention this to us sooner?"

What was this about magic?

"Calm down. That's beside the point; Yuri and Warrod already know." Precht stated in a commanding voice.

I wilted a little. So I was the last person to know that Mavis could use magic...That was depressing.

Precht glared at me; his patience must have been wearing thin. "We've been thinking…that Zera is only an illusion."My eyes widened at what he was saying. I opened my mouth to react, but quickly snapped it back shut. Instead, I waited for Precht to continue speaking. "She is an illusion that is unconsciously done, but one that only Mavis herself can see."

I blinked my eyes as I tried to process the information handed to me. That was when I started to realize that, as crazy as it sounded, it made sense. Mavis was thirteen years old, and surely it would be assumed that someone her age had already outgrown imaginary friends. It was that and the way that she treated Zera as an ordinary person; it must have been an illusion strong enough to convince Mavis that she was real, even if we couldn't see her. And it sounded to me that Precht had put a lot of thought into this.

Then again, anyone left alone on and island could probably only take it for so long...

"Hey Precht," I said breaking my silence. "Why would you ask me about Zera? I'm pretty much as in the dark as you guys...maybe more so because of the whole memory-amnesia thing."

"Wherever you're from, it must be far away. The reason why you can 'sense' Zera is that you're magic sensitive," He answered ignoring my sarcastic remark. "I may not be knowledgeable on the subject of magic, but it's not hard to figure it out. In fact, anyone with a brain is capable of piecing together such answers."

I lingered for a moment on his words: Magic sensitive?

"Look, keep silent about this. I only told you so you wouldn't be in the dark."

"That's not the only reason," I said with a smirk forming on my face. "Wow, no matter how gruff ya look, you really care about Mavis, don't you?" Precht wasn't amused by my sentiments. Instead, he frowned and shook his head before turning heel and walking away from me. "Hey, where are you going?" I shouted after him.

"I've got hunting to do." He answered plainly.

Despite his mean face, Precht was…a pretty cool guy. Nice wouldn't be the word to describe him, but it was easy to see that he did care about his friends. It would be in the subtlest ways, but you could easily tell. That was probably even why he wanted to train me how to use a dagger; he was just looking out for me.

"Hold on…" I muttered under my breath. "How am I supposed to get back to camp?!" I shouted in realization. The only response I got was that of the birds startled out of the surrounding trees.

* * *

...

"Treasure hunting sure does seem crazy dangerous," Mavis remarked.

"You betcha! But the payback is worth the craziness." Yuri said.

We sat around the campfire. Night had already fallen and I found myself listening to the three treasure hunters recount some of their adventures. And I listened to them all just as closely as Mavis. A few of the stories I'd heard before, but they still held my attention just the same. As they spoke, my eyes were focused on the crackling flames at the center of our little circle. And all the while I was listening, my thoughts kept drifting back to what Precht had told me earlier: Mavis could use magic…and Zera was an illusion.

"Just a heads up, you shouldn't really be so trusting of people. We're actually—"

"I can trust you," Mavis said interrupting Warrod. I looked up from the fire and turned my attention to her. "I can see it in your eyes. Well, that and you wouldn't be looking after Finn if that was the case…"

The expressions on the three men's faces was priceless; they had gone silent and were staring at the girl with disbelief written plainly across their faces. It was as if they felt offended by her words. Then their gaze then drifted to me—with Precht almost glaring—as if to blame me for Mavis' words.

"Huh? Wait a minute, where's Zera?" Mavis then wondered aloud.

"Not sure." I spoke up. I thought for a second, recalling what Mavis had said earlier. "Is she still trying to catch fish?"

"I'm going to go look." Mavis said worriedly.

"Hey!" Yuri shouted after her before sighing.

"A strange girl." Precht stated.

"I like her though." Warrod responded. "The Tenrou Jade…Why don't we just give it to Mavis?"

"I've already lost interest in the thing." Precht commented in agreement. I smirked knowingly; the two had definitely developed a soft spot for Mavis, and in such a short time too. But Yuri on the other hand…

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don't give me that crap—!"

"I still can't get over the fact that you're willing to steal from a little girl who has lost everything," I said in a deadpan.

I couldn't tell what Yuri was thinking. This whole entire time, he was still obsessed with finding the jade. One thing's for certain, he had a one-track mind. "It's not stealing if she never had it in the first place!" He retorted. "Besides, she obviously shouldn't have any issues with replacing it with an image! It's not like she'd realize the difference." Abruptly, Yuri winced realizing what he said. Precht didn't appear amused by his response either, and found myself mimicking his disapproving frown.

"Hey now, that's a little insensitive don't you think?" Warrod scolded him.

"Oh yeah, and how long have you guys known about this?" I asked directing my question to Precht.

"You told her?" Yuri accused the man. "Of course you did. We were supposed to keep this a secret!"

"About a week back. Precht was the one to first discover her magic and, well…Yuri was the one who connected the dots," Warrod said thoughtfully.

"She has the right to know," Precht retorted. "That and it was better than letting her come to her own conclusion about Zera, _Yuri_."

I gave one good look at the blond, an expression of disbelief on my face. Yuri's own expression didn't waver, and his mouth was still set in a straight line. Out of the three of them, I would have expected Precht to be the last one to ever let me in on a secret. For him to tell me about it, that was saying something. "Why couldn't you tell me yourself? You had plenty of time to," I said bitterly. "So what's your reason behind that? Do you not trust me?"

"Cause you and Mavis seem really close, and I didn't want you to worry about it," Yuri shot back. "You have enough to think about as it is."

"You…You really think I have a lot to worry about? Hell, I don't even know what to worry about," I spat. "I don't have anything except for…" I trailed off trying to figure out what I was going to say next, but the words wouldn't come to mind. I was drawing nothing but a complete blank aside from Yuri and aside from Precht and Warrod and Mavis.

And Warrod and Precht didn't have to say anything for me to realize that they didn't ever think my memories would come back. It had been almost a month—maybe even more since I had been with them and nothing had changed. Not one single memory had returned. The only thing that changed was this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I wasn't supposed to be here; it felt even worse than before.

"Look, okay fine. I won't keep you in the dark anymore, I promise," Yuri finally said. "We'll be here for you until you get your memories back, Okay? You won't be alone. And, well, with Mavis…"

"Sooner or later, she's bound to realize what Zera really is," Precht finished.

"The only thing we can do about all of this is just take it in stride. First we focus on finding the jade. No point in getting worked up over something that hasn't happened yet," Warrod said.

All of us silently agreed.

The four of us lapsed into silence. I finally looked away from Yuri and threw a small glance in the direction that Mavis went. Warrod was the one to catch my eye, and he offered a reassuring smile. That was when I realized that Warrod was right. There was no sense in worrying about the future yet.

We had to move forward one step at a time; with getting the Jade back, with my memories, and with Mavis too.

* * *

...

And so the next day of travel passed by in almost an instant. The four of us didn't say anything more about Zera, and instead focused on the next task we had: Magnolia. We needed to get the jade back from Blue Skull, and get out alive while doing so.

"This is…Magnolia?" I questioned in shock. The five of us stood on the hillside at the edge of the woods. Not far off in the distance, we could clearly see a cluster of buildings nestled at the bottom near what looked to be a bay…or perhaps a large lake? No, a river?

"It looks…" Yuri trailed off uncertain of how to continue.

There wasn't a need for him to finish, however. It was plain as day to all of us what the town looked like; nothing more than a ghost town. Considering its location along a waterway, the first thought to mind was that it should have been almost as prosperous as Hargeon, if not more. Yet, as it turned out, the whole place looked as if it had seen better times.

Not mentioning another word, we proceeded the rest of our journey.

Soon, we found ourselves walking along a worn road directly into the city. Sure enough, what we saw at a distance was real. The city of Magnolia was nothing more than a rotting corpse. There were no people out in the streets; no merchants or townspeople. It held nothing similar to the lively town of Hargeon that we had traveled from the week prior. As we continued on, I could feel eyes watching us, but when I tried to find them, the only thing I would see is a rustling of curtains or doors being shut.

The people here were terrified of something. I found my eyes drawn to the center of the decaying city where a massive stone building sat. It was in nearly as much disrepair as the homes around it, but that wasn't what caught my eye. No, it was the blue skeleton of a dragon that sat perched atop the building that did. It loomed above us and I found myself staring at the creature with a sinking feeling in my gut.

"It's Kardia Cathedral…" Warrod said.

"Blue bones…Blue Skull." Mavis remarked.

"I guess that means we're in the right place, huh?" I said without my eyes leaving the skeleton.

"You folks travelers?" A hollow spoke up from behind us. We quickly turned around to see another man approaching us. He was rather short and dressed in a simple shirt and vest with long pants. By the appearance of his face as well, the man had seen many days in his life. At present, he was the only one in the town to approach us. There was an almost pleading look in his eyes as he came to a stop in front of us. "There's nothing left in this city. Leave while you can."

"But this is where we're supposed to be," Yuri responded.

"Old man, what happened to this place?" Precht questioned with concern in his voice.

"The city is dying." The old man said simply.

"The city's dying?" Mavis repeated in question.

"No, I guess it's already dead, huh? Ever since Blue Skull came, this city's—" The man was abruptly cut off from saying more—right when something pierced straight through his stomach. It all happened so fast. My eyes widened at the sight, with a silent scream hanging on my tongue. With shock still written on his face, the man slowly fell to the ground.

Dead.

Killed right before my eyes.

And I wasn't the only one was shocked.

"Booyah! Strike!" An obnoxious voice shouted from above us. Along with everyone else, my eyes shot up to the rooftops where three men stood, laughing among each other. "Alrighty, I'mma aim for the girl next!" The one standing furthest to the left said.

"That mark…" Mavis said stunned.

"It's Blue Skull!" I said jumping to the conclusion.

Who else could it be?

"Ya think you could just walk into our streets like that?" The one in the middle shouted.

"Die!" The third said as he leaped down, brandishing a club in his hands that was…glowing? And he was coming straight at me. My feet were rooted where I stood, unable to react. That was when I felt someone slam into my side, just barely pushing me out of the way in time. It was Yuri.

"You Brats!" He spat angrily. Leaping to his feet, he stood in front of me facing the three mages. Mavis came to my side and offered me her hand, pulling me up.

"This is it, Yuri! Warrod!" Precht said with fury dripping in his voice. Before I knew it, the three made a mad charge towards the three wizards. I watched in anticipation as Yuri lunged forward, planting a solid punch to his opponent's face, knocking him out. Without even seeing much of what he did, Precht's own opponent lay motionless on the ground in front of him and before I could blink, a third body lay in a heap as well. They weren't dead though. Silently I remarked that they would be feeling that later, but it was more mercy than they deserved.

As quickly as the wizards came, they were defeated.

"Heh, all that talk but…you still call yourself a wizard?" Yuri boasted as he stood over them. The looks on Warrod and Precht's faces were solemn; they weren't rejoicing, especially not when an innocent man had been killed. Mavis too remained silent from where she stood beside me. Just as I was about to speak up, I froze when a horde of voices began echoing off of the buildings. There were a lot of them, and it sounded like they were heading in our direction.

I turned behind us to see a crowd—no, an army of people approaching us from down the street.

"Reinforcements," Warrod said seriously.

Without hesitation, Mavis charged out from behind me. Before I could reach out and warn her to stop, she spoke up. "Leave this to me!" She said raising her hands to the sky. Reluctantly, I stood back as I felt a pull in the pit of my stomach. Opening her mouth, Mavis uttered a single command: "Come!"

A bright, warm light engulfed the area we stood in. My eyes automatically closed to shield out the harsh light, but when I opened them I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All around me stood tall, imposing figures. They wore a distinct array of armors and each had a weapon clasped in hand ready to fight the oncoming crowed. Turning my head, I saw them surrounding us on all three sides with Precht, Warrod, and Yuri standing among them and out of sight. That was when the single thought registered in my mind: It was Mavis' magic.

This _was_ magic.

I gasped a little at the sight of them; they looked so real and it even felt like there was someone standing directly beside me and I felt a surge of confidence rise within me. Looking towards the approaching enemies, the expressions of surprise and fright said that they believed it was real too. They halted their advance and nervously exchanged words, looking between one another for a solution. What were they going to do against such a massive force?

"I need to talk to your master. Can you call him out?" Mavis said in a steely tone.

"There's no need for that. What's all the fuss about?" A voice responded to her call. Craning my neck slightly, I watched as a man wearing a black cape and goggles covering his eyes emerged from the crowd. Blue paint covered the front of his face and his hair was a dark shade of purple. My eyes lingered on his hair for a moment and I pursed my lips at the thought. Purple?

"Yeah! He came to us!" I heard Yuri shouting.

"Shut Up." Precht snapped.

"So he's the master…"

"You stole something precious from Tenrou Island seven years ago…And now we've come to ask you to return it, the Tenrou Jade." Mavis commanded as the guild master looked on at her blankly. "If you refuse…"

"If I refuse, what, Hmm?" He cut her off.

"I'll send these troops." Mavis said challengingly.

"Those troops, hm?"

He eyed them for a moment, and I could feel sweat forming on my brow. A small glance at Mavis told me...that she was betting a lot on her bluff to work. Thinking about it, I slowly began to realize that there was no way her 'troops' could fight for us; they were illusions after all. The only thing that stood between our small group and a guild of evil wizards was Mavis' poker face. I held my breath as the man turned and began walking away.

It had to work.

"Do it. Those are fake."

What?

The guild master spun around, sweeping his hand out. A wave-like pressure crashed into us and I found myself bringing my arms up defensively. Suddenly, all of Mavis' illusions began to disintegrate into nothingness. My heart sank and time seemed to slow as I watched them fade away leaving the five of us out in the open. I could see the treasure hunters again, and Mavis stood a short ways in front of me, motionless.

He saw through it.

The mob from Blue Skull had remained still as well, trying to take in what their master had done. A beat of silence passed. As if somebody snapped their fingers, the crowd came alive and started charging at us, some of the people howling and shouting. Quickly dashing forward, I grabbed Mavis roughly by the shoulder, tucking her behind me before pulling out the dagger from its sheath.

"This is bad!" Yuri scowled.

"Fall back!" Precht ordered.

"We're surrounded!" Warrod shot back. Sending a look over my shoulder, I could see the truth in his words; they had snuck up behind us. All around, any hope of exiting was blocked by the faces of Blue Skull members. My grip tightened on the dagger in my hand. There wasn't a way out. I was going to have to fight; we all were, especially if we wanted to get out alive.

It was either going to kill or be killed, no option in between.

I wasn't prepared for this.

"We'll push through!" Yuri shouted in determination.

With that, the three treasure hunters charged forward at the approaching enemy. Warrod plowed through any he came across while the ones that came across Precht weren't so lucky; he slashed at them with his blades, coating the street in speckles of crimson. Yuri all the meanwhile attacked with his crystal bombs that he was so fond of. And they managed to keep them the opening they were creating, I grabbed Mavis by the arm, pulling her forward with me; we were still being attacked from behind and we needed to stick close to the three men.

"Let's go! We need to stay close to them!"

One man stepped into my path, a sneer on his face. With Mavis still secured behind me, I shakily held the dagger out. sensing my fear, he took a step forward, and then another. He held up his hand and I could see flames start to form. But that was when something clicked inside of me. Rather than stand their helplessly, I lunged forward. It was as if something forced my hand to move, and I brought the blade down over his hand.

I couldn't see the rest after that.

I didn't want to.

Making a mad dash forward, we quickly caught up with Yuri and the others—right as Yuri threw a crystal bomb at the guild's leader. I turned around to shout at the teen to get moving. Before I could say anything however, I saw a look of shock wash over him. In a split second, the same bomb he had just thrown was hurdling right back at him. Shoving Mavis away, my body automatically darted out in front of Yuri with my back facing the oncoming threat.

I didn't even know how I managed to react that fast.

The last thing I saw was the expression on Yuri's face. I had never seen him look that way; the shock in his eyes. Yuri's eyes widened and he started to yell right as I felt something crashing into my back. The pain was light at first, a faint scratching that seemed to cover my back. A split second later there was a loud crack and I felt searing pain that reached all the way up to my neck.

And then I fell.

* * *

...

My body felt as stiff as a board. The ground I was laying on felt lumpy and uneven. But I felt a soft breeze in the air and heard the rustling of leaves. Somewhere in the distance, birds were chirping and I could hear some people talking. Ever so slowly I opened my eyes and found myself staring at trees; we were in the forest again, and it felt like we had never left.

"She's awake."

I blinked and turned to find Precht kneeling next to me. I didn't say anything though; I was confused to say the least. Precht had bandages wrapped across his head with the majority of it resting over one of his eyes. He looked like he had been through hell. Before I could open my mouth to speak, Precht moved aside and I found myself looking at Yuri's worried face.

"Why?!" He questioned with the look on his face changing to anger. "Why did you do it? Don't you ever do something like that again!"

"Couldn't help it. Sorry." I said in a quiet whisper. "What happened?"

"We lost," Yuri said throwing his hands down in frustration.

"As soon as you fell, everything went downhill from there. We barely managed to scrape through with our lives intact." Precht added bitterly. "Warrod ended up having to cart the both of us out."

"I…we thought you were going to die," Yuri said turning back to me. I started for a moment when I saw the long gash going down the side of his face; any closer and he would have lost an eye...Just like Precht did. As I continued staring at him, a thought came to me, something that for some reason made me want to laugh despite the situation we were in.

He reminded me of Laxus from the Fairy Tail manga.

Internally, I applauded myself on the judgement, but then I hesitated. Scrunching my nose in confusion, I repeated the words to myself. What did I just think? I gasped as I shot up from the bed roll I lay in and I instantly regretted it. My back burned and I cried out in pain. "What did you go and do that for?!" Yuri scolded as he tried pushing me back down.

I shook my head at him, refusing to lay back down.

"You were in pretty rough shape," Precht said.

"Yeah. Mavis had to help wrap you up."

Mavis.

Mavis Vermillion.

As in the first guild master of Fairy Tail.

A manga.

An anime.

All of a sudden…I could at least remember that much.

I looked up at the three treasure hunters and thought back to the fight that just happened. The government wouldn't have let a town be run by a corrupt organization. Illusions didn't exist. Magic didn't exist. I had someone managed to fall into the fictional world of one of the many stories I read back home. But…it wasn't all that clear. This...had to be a dream though; there was no way it could be real and yet it was. I groaned a little in frustration, bringing my hands up to my face.

Why was I even here? If I was travelling with the Mavis Vermillion, then that meant that I wasn't anywhere near the main story line. No. I was about, what, a hundred years in the past or something?

Oh god.

I was in the past.

What could I do?

I didn't have the slightest clue as to what was happening.

And what if I already changed something?

"Finn?" Yuri questioned. I snapped my attention back to him with my hands falling limply by my sides. He was…related to Makarov. That was his name, right? Fairy Tail's other guild master? And then there was Warrod and Precht. I could recall that Warrod became a member of the council, but Precht…What happened to him again?

These four people that I traveled with were all the founding members of the Fairy Tail magic guild, but…the only one of them who could use magic was Mavis. That didn't make any sense. And where was she?

"Where is Mavis?" I asked.

"She went to fetch some water a little while ago." Warrod said responding to my question.

I sighed in relief. I thought for a moment that she had…

"We all made it back, don't worry." Precht said reading my expression.

I looked at him and nodded my head in thanks.

"How bad is it?" I asked turning my attention to the bandages wrapped around my torso. My back felt like I had severe carpet burn. And it even felt like I was stabbed by a bunch of rocks. I carefully reached up and patted the back of my hair; it was singed too, but by how much I wasn't certain. The one thing I could determine was that I could feel the soft breeze touching the back of my neck.

"You got hit directly with one of Yuri's special crystal bombs," Precht answered. Yuri flinched. "You were very lucky; the worst you'll have to deal with is the scarring on your back."

"huh." I said.

How would I be able to explain that one when I got home?

That is… _if_ I got home. The place I was in was dangerous, no doubt. From what I had gone through so far, it was a miracle that I was still alive. I probably had the amnesia to thank for that. Who knows how I would have reacted if I did have my memories when I woke up. But half of my memories were still fuzzy. I had no idea how I got here, nor any idea of how to go back. The only thing that I knew though, was that I shouldn't be here; involved with these people. I had the potential to destroy the future with one small wrong move.

But on the other hand, I wanted to be here.

"Hey you guys!"

Mavis' voice brought me back to the present. All four of us looked in her direction as she came in sight; the expression on her face was one of excitement. Behind her I saw another figure following, that of a young man with black hair dressed in garb that almost looked like a tunic. I narrowed my eyes as I studied his face. Something in the back of my mind was trying to tell me that I knew who he was, but I couldn't place the name.

Who was he?

The one thing that I did catch onto, however, was the feeling in the air; something that up close made me want to gag. I recognized it as the strange energy I had felt when we were in Hargeon, only this time…it was faint.

"Who's that?" Warrod asked suspiciously as the rest of us remained silent.

"He's going to teach us magic!" Mavis shouted clasping her hands together.

The four of us shared a look before turning back to Mavis and then the stranger standing further behind her.

A single question sounded in my mind: So was this how they learned magic?

* * *

...

Author's Note: And Finn has her memory back...some of it anyways. She has almost no clue about what is going on around her except for the fact that she knows her companions are the founders of the Fairy Tail guild. It won't be much longer until she runs into the main characters though. In the next chapter: the final confrontation with Blue Skull!

Please feel free to leave any comments or questions.

~BlueCampanula


	5. Chapter 5

_Edited 10/21/2016_

 **Chapter Five: to Let Go**

* * *

...

Finn Elizabeth Hackett. That was my full name and last I checked my age was seventeen years old. From what I could recall, I had two parents and an older sister; an average family. Or at least it was average until I somehow ended up in a fictional world. That was the one part of my situation that I couldn't quite come to terms with.

And while I was curious as to how I got here, I couldn't even begin to imagine how my family was dealing with my absence. Perhaps they were worried—or maybe they were even beginning to think I was dead. There were still some gaps in my memory, but I could definitely remember how overly cautious and paranoid my family acted. How long had it been already? Weeks? Months? I wasn't entirely sure with everything else that had happened in my 'little' journey. I didn't even know how I could get home either.

That left me with two possibilities to face.

One was that I would be able to get home safely. I'd return and, sure, it would be hard to explain where I'd been for the past month or so, but I'd be able to salvage some of my sanity in the end. If I was lucky enough I would be able to talk my way out of my situation without ending up with a one way ticket to a padded-cell. On the other hand though, I would never be able to see any of my new friends again.

Mavis, Yuri, Warrod, and Precht.

All gone.

That was if it didn't end up taking me years to get home. And then some part of me…Severely doubted the existence of a dimensional magic that would be able to send me home to normal, non-magical earth. Was it even possible for a person to have that kind of power?

My answer was no, regardless of how much I tried to say that it was.

That led me to the other possibility, one in which I would never find my way home at all. I would be stranded in the past of a fictional story, not knowing where to go or who to turn to for help—completely alone and never to see my family or friends again. There was no way that I could stay behind with the founders of the Fairy Tail guild, not with the heavy risk that I could destroy the future.

The truth was that both possibilities scared me greatly. No matter what happened, I knew that things would never be the same for me. There was no way that I could ever go back home and forget something like this. I already knew that there was no way this was a dream; I may not have remembered how I got here, but everything I saw and touched here was real.

The people were real.

The pain was real.

The fear was real.

But no matter what happened in the end, life goes on… Right?

Who was I kidding? My head was hurting enough as it was. Throw in the fact that some stranger was teaching us magic and my head was bound to explode sometime soon. My only reaction thus far had been to keep quiet about this.

I kept it hidden from the group that my memories had returned. Having Mavis and the three treasure hunters know about that wasn't needed, not right now. No, they needed to focus their attention on learning magic.

* * *

...

Two days had already passed by since the Magnolia incident and it had been two days since I remembered who I was. The group didn't travel anywhere different though. We remained in the secluded woods somewhere around the outskirts of Magnolia while we recovered from the ordeal, all the while learning the teachings of magic from a mysterious young man with raven black hair.

And throughout those two days, I quietly struggled, pushing my troubled thoughts away to the back of my mind in favor of listening and learning. Eventually I found my mind wandering over to another idea: the fact that the youth in the robes was familiar to me.

And I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to fix you shirt." Mavis said apologetically as she sat with me beside the fire.

"It's okay. I already knew that shirt was a goner. Besides, the one you gave me should work fine for now," I said with a laugh. Mavis had tried to patch up my shirt for me after it had been shredded in the explosion, but in the end I opted to stick with the one she gave me; it was less likely to fall apart on me. What I wore now instead of the white tank-top was a rosy colored sleeveless shirt that fit snugly around my body, exposing the outline of the white bandages that stretched across my stomach and all the way up to the top of my back.

"Do you need me and Zera to help you change the bandages again?" She asked. I nodded my head in response and stood up along with Mavis. She smoothly picked up a bag in her hands before beginning to walk down the winding trail towards the small pond, talking quietly to Zera as she went.

"You two be careful. It's already late." Precht said; instead of bandages, the man now wore an eye-patch on his eye. As a result of the fight against Blue Skull, that eye was left blinded—something that not even magic could fix. I felt really sorry for him, but Precht proved to be tough as nails and moved on from it after the first day.

"Yeah, will do," I replied as I turned to follow the girl, leaving the treasure hunters at the campsite.

Breaking out into a light jog, I caught up with Mavis and after a few minutes of walking, my ears were met with the noisy chirping of crickets and the raspy croaking of the frogs. We had reached the small pond. Approaching the water's edge, I quickly sat down and took of my shoes, dipping my feet into the soothing cool water. The sun reflected on the water as it was slowly dipping below the horizon.

Mavis quickly set to work, peeling off the bandages from my torso as soon as I tugged off my shirt. I'll admit, the first time around I was really embarrassed about stripping down in front of another human being, but I sucked it up. At least I had Mavis to help me and not one of the other guys to help. I cringed at the thought; I wouldn't have been able to live past that.

"I think you'll be fine without the bandages now." Mavis spoke up. "It's still a little scratchy, but the burns and cuts are almost gone."

"Really?" I asked in surprise. In this world, it turned out that magic could help heal a person a lot faster; what should have taken months to heal took only a few days. At first I had been stunned that Precht got over his injury so quickly, but after the first day, I felt my own wounds start to bother me less and less. The whole process was probably sped up even further since the main thing we had been doing the entire time was meditating and gathering up ethernano; that was what we were told to do.

"I guess you won't be needing these anymore, huh?" She said folding up the bandages.

"Thanks Mavis."

"No problem! Hey, you guys can wait here. I just remembered that we could use some more water back at camp. I'll be back in a few minutes with the water canteens!" She chirped as she dashed back down the path.

"Hey, wait! Are you sure it's safe to go alone?" I shouted after her as I watched her figure disappear through the brush. I sighed as I slowly turned back towards the water—that is before I realized that I could actually feel the presence of Mavis's imaginary friend beside me.

"You know, I feel like a crazy person right now," I said absently. My eyes drifted down to the water at my reflection. My long, curly brown hair was much shorter thanks to the fact that it had been burned by the blast, but I was thankful that I was still intact. My appearance in itself though caused a dry laugh to escape my lips.

That summed up how I had felt since Magnolia: I was simply a wreck—not just physically, but mentally too.

"You find something amusing?" A voice spoke up. I snapped my head up in the direction it came from; across the other side of the small pond. I looked up to see the familiar figure of the young stranger standing among the dead trees that laced the other side of the water. All of the creatures in the area had gone silent, easily allowing his voice to carry over the air.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were here, Teach." I said nervously as I regained my breath. I brought my hands up to my eyes and gently rubbed them; I hadn't realized I was crying. Lowering my hands down from my eyes, my gaze locked onto the stranger, who was now sitting across from me. From the moment I had first seen him, I couldn't shake the one thought from my head that I had come across him before.

When I was around him, I felt the same energy around him as I did when we had been in Hargeon—magical energy that I now could only describe as feeling almost…rotten. With the amount of it that was radiating off of him, that left me little doubt that the man himself was very powerful. Add that to the fact that he could explain magic to us like it was nothing and I was beginning to think that he would be able to help me out of my current predicament.

And now the chance to finally talk to him alone had presented itself on a silver platter.

Realizing that I was staring at him for too long and that he was staring back, I quickly apologized, looking away with my cheeks flushing. "Ah, I was wondering…did you, uh…happen to be in a little town called Hargeon as of late?" I asked finally steeling my nerves.

"Did you find the answer you were seeking?" He said in response.

I blinked.

"So…was I right? You were the strange energy I felt back in the other town!" I pointed accusingly. I had…talked to him while I was sleep walking? That thought for some reason didn't seem to settle well with me.

"If by energy you mean magic, then yes. Not many people are adept in sensing it that well." He said.

I laughed again.

He said magic.

"Sorry, sorry," I said as I tried to calm myself. "And yeah, I did find my answer from before; I know where I came from—my amnesia it's gone…well, most of it anyways. The thing is, I'm starting to think I was better off without my memories. Nothing is making sense anymore." I then turned to him with a look of hope flashing in my eyes. "I don't suppose you have some sort of dimensional magic up your sleeves, do you?"

He shook his head, instantly dashing my hopes of any easy way out.

"Not the kind you seek."

"Oh great…now I suppose I'll have to embark on my own quest to find a way back huh?" I said rubbing my head. "Man, what a mess. How did I even get involved in all this?" He didn't say anything back, leaving my words hanging on the air itself. I'll admit it was starting to get pretty awkward with how unwilling he was to talk. Swallowing a small lump in my throat, I decided to continue. "I mean, I'll probably sound like a ranting lunatic, but could you hear me out?" I asked him.

He simply nodded his head.

"Okay, so here's what I know…" I began explaining to a complete stranger what I had gone through; from waking up with no memories to the attack in Magnolia. Of course, I left out the part that involved this world being fictional in mine, but I practically spilled my guts, letting slip the information that I was from a different world entirely.

For some reason, it was oddly relieving to confide in a complete stranger. That and he didn't strike me as the kind of person to spill secrets.

"And I know that I can't possibly stay with them because I'll only end up hurting them; no good could come of my presence and it's all because I simply do not belong in this world. And yet…" I trailed off for a moment in thought. "Come to think of it, a part of me wants to stay, saying that it might be impossible to get home."

As much as I wanted to go home, I didn't feel like I would ever be ready to leave. Even if I had known them for a short time, my mind had gone as far as to see everyone as family in attempt to cover up the missing pieces. Tearing away from my thoughts, I looked at him expectantly. He sat in perfect silence the entire time, not interrupting with any questions and instead taking in each word I said without judging.

"Trust me…when I say that you have no reason to worry." He said dejectedly. "If there's anyone that needed to leave, it's me."

I started at his dark words as he got up and began walking away.

Crap.

Was I talking too much?

"Hey!" I said jumping to my feet to charge after him. "Wait!"

"Don't!" He hissed stopping me dead in my tracks before his voice softened. "Please. Don't get any closer to me."

"I'm sorry if something I said upset you, but please don't leave! You're actually supposed to be here while I'm not!"

At my words, he stopped.

"Look, I'll leave you in peace." I finally said. "I'm grateful that you listened to a complete stranger, but please don't abandon them because of me." Picking up my shoes I began to walk away. I was out of options; from here on out, I was completely on my own. If I told everyone about my memories returning, who's to say they wouldn't react the same way.

"It seems that we are two people in similar predicaments yet such different circumstances." He finally spoke up behind me.

I paused mid-step to ponder his words: What did he mean by that?

"You…you feel like you don't belong either, do you?" I concluded as I turned back around.

He didn't respond.

"That kind of explains why you don't like people that much and why you keep your distance from us. Heck, that's probably why we still don't know your name either," I pointed out. "And yet, unlike me, you feel like you don't belong anywhere. Is that it?" With his back still facing me, I couldn't read his expression and whether or not I was right on the mark, I didn't know. The only sign that told me I struck a chord was that his head dipped slightly lower.

"And here I was making it seem like I faced the biggest problem around." I said dryly. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky; the sun was gone now, leaving the moon in its place. I silently remarked to myself that I had never been comfortable talking with people I didn't know. In fact, I wasn't even usually this observant with people either.

It was as if being in this whole situation was changing the way I thought and acted.

"This is one of the longest conversations I've had with another human in a long time." The stranger said softly.

I felt a frown tugging at my lips and all of a sudden, my own problems didn't seem as significant anymore. Sure, I may have been far from home, but at least I had people. Though I may have denied it, I realized that deep down I was always going to have Mavis and the others behind me. This man on the other hand had nobody. He kept away from everybody as if he was a disease, an oddity that all of us had caught onto immediately. It was probably a miracle in and of itself that he was staying with us.

For how long, none of us knew.

"You know," I spoke quietly. "It's people who don't see their own worth that fail to realize how precious their own lives are." My words lingered for a moment before I cleared my throat again. "Yeah, and I'm going to stop talking now. Mum's always said that I tend to run my mouth more than I should. I'll be going."

As soon as I said that though, Mavis' voice broke through the silence before it had time to even settle. "Hey Zera! Finn! I'm back—oh, sorry. I wasn't cutting in was I?" She asked politely as she came into view.

"No, not at all. We were merely discussing Finn's magic abilities." The stranger spoke up without missing a beat.

"That's great!" She said looking between us. A cheerful grin crossed her face. "We've all been wondering if things were okay." I looked at the stranger for a split second, silently grateful for the change in topic. I also couldn't help but notice his complete attitude change…he seemed almost cheerful.

"Uh, yeah. I don't exactly think I would have a knack for it though." I replied sheepishly.

"That is not true. You have just as much capability of wielding magic as everyone else." He finished. And with that the stranger turned and left us staring after him as his figure disappeared into the trees.

"You were paying attention to the lessons, right? I'm sure you'll find a magic sooner or later. Have you at least given it any thought?" Mavis asked handing me one of the canteens in her hands.

I tossed the idea around in my mind. Magic was something that I could actually use? The young man basically said it himself, and I found myself believing his words. That lit a small spark in my chest and I began to entertain the thought: It _was_ possible for me to wield magic. An opportunity like this one was not going to ever present itself again, especially if I went home.

"I was paying attention," I finally responded. "But I don't think I'd really know where to start."

"Maybe Zera and I can help you?" She responded cheerfully.

I bent over next to the water and filled up the other canteen just as she stood up.

"I'll take all the help I can get then." I said returning her smile. Already everyone was getting a grasp on their magical abilities and it was all thanks to the young man. It started differently for all of them. Aside from Mavis, Precht was the first of us to use his magic, catching on pretty fast. I had no idea what his magic was, but the stranger actually said that he had quite the talent for magic, so it probably meant he could specialize in several different types.

Yuri followed soon after. He ended up giving up on the meditating technique our teacher gave us and instead took his training another way. It was funny at first watching Yuri working out all the time, but I wasn't laughing when he finally developed his magic. It was lightening magic, something that fitted his personality to a t. He and Precht ended up moving on to targeting the physical aspects of magic after that.

Warrod didn't catch on as fast as the other two; he seemed oddly discouraged by that, but then after only a day he finally discovered his talent in magic. It was some sort of plant magic. When he showed it to us, we were all happy for him. Compared to the other's magic, Warrod's was focused around protection rather than offensive fighting.

That was what I had witnessed over the past few days; all of them practically developed their own magic from the ground up, creating new spells and training with them. Watching all of it unfold had stunned me and now it was my turn to find my magic. I needed to play catch up with the rest of them, but I would be able to do it.

"Hey! There you guys are!" Yuri said as he stumbled out of the underbrush.

"We were just on our way back. I told you we wouldn't be long." Mavis said calmly.

"Well, the sun's already gone and I just wanted to make sure that you guys got back safely."

"Don't tell me you think we couldn't handle being on our own." I drawled in amusement.

"No, no," he said defensively, "I simply wanted to keep you guys company.

"What's your point?" Mavis questioned.

"Okay, fine. I give up." Yuri said as he rolled his eyes.

"If you want, you could make yourself useful and help me figure out what kind of magic I can use." I quipped.

"Challenge accepted!" He shouted, his demeanor changing instantly.

The three of us—four if Zera was counted—began slowly making our way back towards the camp. Focusing my attention at the ground, I kept an eye out for stray roots, trying to make sure that I wouldn't trip. The ground was uneven and the dark made things that much worse. All the meanwhile, Mavis and Yuri bantered back and forth asking me questions and trying to think of an idea.

"Let's see…From what we've learned, the magic a person can easily use is one similar to their personality, right?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah, I guess." I commented without looking at him. The stranger did mention that. A prime example was Yuri's own lightning magic; it was as flashy as his own personality. But for me, I didn't even know where to start. There were just so many possibilities and I hadn't even considered them. Did I want a magic involving fire? Wind was also a possibility, but then again so was earth and water. What would work best for me? And then what purpose would I get out of it? Something useful, I hoped.

But I didn't want to exactly knock off somebody else's magic.

"That's it!" Yuri said jumping out in front of me. Snapping my attention up, I quickly stopped in my tracks. Mavis moved up beside me, an eager expression on her face.

"Oh, let's hear it!" She said excitedly.

"How about light?" Yuri suggested.

I paused for a moment.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh! I think that should work perfectly!" Mavis chimed. She turned to the empty gap beside her and spoke again. "You think?" She asked it gleefully.

"So, light magic?" I pondered for a moment. "But…I don't really know what I could do with that."

"You can probably do a lot with it, actually. Even though it may not seem like it, magic can be potent like that. Just give it a go and see what you can do, right?" Mavis stated.

I looked at both of them.

"Well, I guess I'll give it a shot then."

It was better than anything I had thought up.

* * *

...

The stranger was definitely a powerful wizard…Or a cheater.

One of those two.

"Is this real?" I asked myself as I stared down at my hand. In it sat a small, flickering ball of light. My fingers were being tickled by the strangest sensation, enveloped in soothing warmth. It looked and felt as if I held a tiny portion of the sun in my hands. And it had taken me all day to reach that point.

"Alright! You finally did it!" Mavis beamed.

"But what do I do now? I never…thought that I would actually get this far." I said stunned. There I was sitting on a rotted tree stump casting my very own magic. But what exactly could light do? Summoning it as magic was one thing, but trying to figure out how to use it was another. I was going to have a heck of a time trying to figure out to use it to form an attack, but…light really didn't strike me as something combative.

"Come to think of it," I said canceling out the magic, "I don't think I know what to do with this."

"When you cast it, what were you thinking of in your mind?" Mavis asked.

"I was thinking of the sun, I guess…" I answered unsurely.

"So you used that to form the light in your hands, right? Now just try thinking of something else to give it shape."

"I never thought of it that way." I mumbled thoughtfully. Was magic really all that simple? When I thought about it, magic seemed incredible and even overpowered to a point. The opportunity of what magic could do seemed infinite, the only thing that really held it back was one's own heart or magic capacity. Maybe studying magic could mean finding a way home?

"You're a genius Mavis! How many books did you have to read to learn all this?"

"Well, I only really knew about illusion magic…" she said bashfully.

"I guess I'll just have to right down a few ideas and work on them. Maybe I can ask Teach for some spells too; that seems best." I concluded. If he could explain magic so well, there wasn't any reason why I shouldn't ask him about it. Getting up from the stump I was sitting on, I stretched and let my gaze wander to the sky briefly. "We should probably get back to camp, I'm sure dinner's going to be ready in a bit." I announced.

"Yeah, but I don't mind cold mushrooms all that much." Mavis hummed in response. "Hey Finn, what would you say if after all this we created a guild?"

"A guild?"

"Magic guild." She confirmed. "I've been thinking that maybe we could put this magic to good use; we could explore places, help people. I've even figured out how it can be run too."

"I…. A magic guild? But where would you put it?" I said at a loss for words. I did know the answer to that already, but…

"Magnolia." Mavis said firmly.

"That would mean taking out Blue Skull." I said in thought.

It clicked. So was this how Fairy Tail ended up in Magnolia in the first place? Mavis and the others must have fought them to save the town and its people. And with how sweet Mavis was, I highly doubted that she would leave people who were suffering. No, she would want to help them. "It's a long stretch, but the people there need help. Building a new guild there would help the economy and make their lives better. It would be a place to come home to…" Mavis trailed off for a moment.

"I was also thinking that maybe we wouldn't have to go our separate ways after this."

She looked back to me and grinned.

"I, uh—have you asked everyone else about this?" I stuttered. "I mean, I don't think that Yuri would object because it would mean getting the Tenrou jade and everything, but that's a pretty huge decision."

"What do you think?" Mavis said holding out a hand to me. "Create a guild or not?"

My eyes stung as I glanced down at her hand; I was crying again.

Damn it.

Here Mavis Vermillion was talking to me about forming the Fairy Tail guild—actually being one of its founding members. Why was she telling me about this? And then more importantly, how could I answer? She would be crushed if I'd said no and not only her but me as well. Mavis was my friend, they all were. And yet I had no place in any of it.

Be passive about it.

That's it.

"Look Mavis…" I started slowly. Rubbing my eyes, I tried my best to keep my voice steady. I glanced at her hand once more before grabbing it with my own. "I can't exactly make any promises, but I'd love more than anything to join a guild with you guys."

"I didn't think you cried a lot." Mavis commented smartly.

I laughed.

Why was this becoming so hard?

* * *

...

Back at the campsite, Mavis finally explained to the others what she had in mind. She didn't bring up the guild idea though, my guess was because of the reaction that Yuri had.

He didn't like the idea one bit.

"We're treasure hunters; we don't play around in that area!" He retorted before going on a rant. He was still going on about finding the Tenrou Jade; on and on and on. It was only until Warrod interrupted his rant that he was convinced.

"But we've come across places like that before. Now we can actually do something about it." He had said. And Precht backed him up on that too. A defeated look crossed Yuri's face and I hid a smirk underneath my hand. It was a good thing that Yuri traveled with people like Precht and Warrod; they acted like the voice of reason, something that was very helpful for a person like Yuri.

"Now that that's settled, I've already planned something out. We'll just have to wait a few days and brush up some more on our magic, and then we can take back the town." Mavis said triumphantly.

"Oh? You've finally got it then?" Warrod asked me cheerfully. "Can we see?"

"Yeah, actually…" I trailed off. The sky was dark now. It was the perfect opportunity to test out a spell—something that I always wanted to see back home. I had figured that it would work just the same with magic. Turning my gaze up to the sky, I began to channel as much magic as I could into my hands. Feeling the magic, it tingled as it spilled into my fingertips. I then reached out as if to try and touch the sky before uttering a single word from my mouth.

"Flare."

In an instant, a sharp, bright light poured out of my hands, striking up at the night sky and all of a sudden, I felt warmth.

"Hey! That's—!" Yuri shouted in excitement, grabbing my shoulder.

"It's…beautiful," Mavis said in awe staring up into the sky. "I've only read about this in books."

"It's so…" Warrod trailed off.

"Well done." Precht remarked gruffly.

I was too speechless to even respond to them. Lowering my hands beside me, all of us fell into a comfortable silence as we stared into the black skies above. Instead of the inky blackness and the white light of the stars, the sky donned a new array of colors; glowing shades of green and purple that appeared to dance across the night sky.

Aurora borealis.

It was…so beautiful.

And this would probably be one of the only times I could actually use it. Here. In this world. But did I really want to lose that?

"Heck yes! At this rate, nobody'll stand in our way!" Yuri said clenching his fists.

"Somebody's changed his tune." Precht snorted. "If we're to keep up honing our skills, I suggest we get some shut eye soon."

We all silently agreed.

"Hey Yuri?" I asked turning to the blond. "How did you narrow it down to light magic?" After making sure it worked, I was curious now as to how he had narrowed it down, out of all the possibilities there were.

"I, uh…Well, I know that you have your amnesia and everything, but for how long I've known you now you strike me as a person who's…how to say it…you kind of remind me of the sun." I tilted my head in confusion as Yuri continued. "It's something that keeps on shining despite how many clouds are in the sky; something that's warm and comforting even if it can burn a little, ya know?"

Suddenly, Yuri found the ground very interesting. I smirked and bent over so that I was looking at his face. "Wait a second, was that a compliment?" I said nudging him in the arm a bit with a teasing smile. He brought his gaze back on me for a second looking stunned before quickly wiping it away.

"Come on now, I was trying to help you out!" He said a bit flustered.

"And I appreciate it a lot, so thanks."

He blinked in surprise.

"Uh, you're welcome. I mean, what else would you expect!" Yuri said, his attitude changing abruptly. In my own opinion though, Mavis was the one who deserved that kind of a compliment, though I didn't say that out loud. She was far more cheerful than I would ever hope to be. And I wasn't near as important as the sun either.

"Hey, maybe I can actually start training with you? If we are going up against a mage guild I'm going to need a bit more than just a dagger and magic."

"You training with me?" he said skeptically with a teasing grin on his face. "Be warned, I'm not about to go easy on you."

"And I'm not expecting it. We only have a few days anyhow. So it's a yes then?"

Yuri nodded his head.

Warrod mumbled something and Precht chuckled.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Yuri shouted at them.

"Nothing." Precht answered.

Shaking my head at Yuri, I turned my attention back to the darkened skies. Things were finally falling into place a bit more. And with that we sat around the fire for a few more minutes, the three treasure hunters recounting their tales about their adventures. Mavis even threw in one of her own about her and Zera. In another hour I found myself tucked into my sleeping bag, eyes heavy.

And before I knew it, I was asleep.

* * *

...

The day finally came when the young man we looked to as a teacher decided that it was time for him to leave. And barely even two days had gone by after I first began to use magic. I only found out about it after Precht returned to the camp during lunch and announced it: The dark haired youth was gone. Mavis didn't seem the least bit surprised about it, me on the other hand…I still didn't know what I was supposed to do and the only person who knew of my situation was abandoning us. Ignoring some protests, I had jumped to my feet and bolted into the woods.

"There's one more thing I need to ask!" I shouted over my shoulder at them as they left my sights. I knew exactly where I was going thanks to the pull of the man's magic; I could still feel it even if it was barely noticeable.

"Hey! Wait up!" I called out.

I could see his robes now standing out among the trees. Slowing to a stop, I bent over to catch my breath.

"I…still…have…a question…" I huffed out. I glanced up to see that I had grabbed his attention.

"What do you think will happen?" I asked him.

What would happen to me if I stayed?

It was a desperate question, I know. The thing is, he was really the only person I could ask about it; he was the only one who knew.

"The longer you remain in this dimension, the harder it will be to leave. Eventually you'll no longer be able to tell anymore what things used to be like and ethernano will replace it."

"So that's it then?"

Would I forget too?

And then what?

"This is where it ends." He finally said.

"So where are you going now?" I called after him.

"Somewhere far away." He replied.

"And you're not gonna say goodbye? Not even to Mavis?" I questioned. The two seemed to become really good friends, what with her taking an interest in the magic he apparently liked to use.

"There comes a time when everyone must walk on their own. I have already kept my promise to her to teach you all magic. If my memory serves me right, then I believe you have an upcoming fight to attend to."

"Wait, why don't you stay with us then?" I asked. "I'm sure we could use your help."

"It is not for me to get involved in the matters of mere mortals." He replied.

Mortals?

"Well…" I trailed off as I watched him get further and further away. Without realizing it too, my feet had begun to follow him too.

"I hope we can at least run into each other again!" I shouted after him.

The young man stopped and turned around to look at me once more.

"Why?"

I thought about it for a moment before responding. "Because you helped teach us magic." I said finding my answer. "Even though we haven't known each other for long, I still think of you as one of my friends and I'm sure everyone else feels the same. It'd be a shame to not see each other again."

A look of shock crossed his face. Regaining his composure he simply shook his head. Reaching into his robes, he pulled something out and threw it in my direction. As soon as I realized it, my hand reached out to catch it. Opening up my hand revealed a small, round pendant bound by a silver chain. I glanced back up in question.

"Keep it. It's a special charm… And perhaps we will run into each other again someday." He said vaguely. I looked down at the pendant once more before looking up again, only this time he was gone; vanished into the woods as if he was never there in the first place.

He still didn't give me his name.

"I guess then that I should get moving too." I said glumly. With the pendant clenched in my hand, I slowly began making my way back to the others.

What He had said…it had to be true. Already I could feel my sense dulling; it was getting harder to tell where Zera was. On top of that, using magic myself was probably only speeding up the process. There wasn't a question in my mind then. The longer I stayed, the harder it _would_ be. That meant that I needed to leave Mavis and Yuri behind—say goodbye to Precht and Warrod. If I had to get home quickly, I couldn't distract them. It would risk possibly everything, cause something to change. And I didn't want to be responsible for that.

"Oh hey, you're back!" Mavis said cheerfully.

I looked up.

"I suppose I am."

For now.

"We were just about to discuss our strategy for Blue Skull." Precht said.

"Hey, we should throw a supply run in there; I'm sure we could all use some new gear, after all can't have our pants falling down while we're fighting." Warrod suggested.

"I can agree with that." Yuri added.

I found myself nodding along too.

Our clothes were basically in tatters and I would definitely need to buy up my own supplies too. After the fight was when I needed to leave and the quicker I left, the better.

Go where?

I had no clue; with any luck the right direction.

Silently I found myself wishing for something to make it all easier; there was little doubt in my mind that part of me was going to break from this.

...

Recalling all of it...perhaps I would have taken it back.

* * *

...

Author's note: It took me a while to come up with this one. I was trying to keep Zeref in character as much as I possibly could...That was actually hard. And so Finn finally has some of her memory back. Regarding her memories Finn had no clue she was talking to Zeref and as for what she will be able to remember, her knowledge will stop at about chapter 415; not every OC should be all knowing.

And on a side note, her magic is revealed:light. I figured it was something that wouldn't be to over powered and also something that wouldn't be the same magic as the other characters (With some exceptions.) Some of her magic will be her own, but she will also use some other preexisting spells. Finn still has a very long way to go, and not just with magic.

Thoughts? Opinions? Feel free to leave a review and let me know.

~BlueCampanula


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Crossroads**

* * *

...

As the days went by, I quickly found myself becoming less certain of what it was that I had to do. And it was quickly becoming harder and harder to hide that fact; I was pretty sure that despite my best effort, everyone was starting to catch on to me. Surprisingly, Precht was the first one to realize it though he didn't ask. And I think it was actually Yuri who was the one that caught on last. It was when we went to the trading outpost that I finally realized it too.

The outpost was small and seemingly insignificant to the major towns and cities. From what I learned, they existed for the convenience of the traveler and thrived off of it as a business. With how long it took to travel from place to place, I could understand how they began to form. The outpost that we were at was bigger than the ones we had visited before.

Rather than consisting of a small travelling caravan, this one actually had a few buildings that housed the wares. There was even a small inn, though Warrod casually mentioned how expensive they were. As soon as Precht handed us an allowance, Mavis had been quick to drag me into one of the nearby shops. And after only thirty minutes of looking, I walked out of the store with a new white t-shirt and a high-collared jacket that was an unusual, almost obnoxious mustard color.

"You could have gotten more, you know? It's not like we're tight on money." Yuri said.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Nah, this is all I need. Besides, you guys shouldn't have to spend a lot of money on me. That ought to be put towards more useful things." I smiled slightly before turning away.

"Hey," he said grabbing my arm. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" I turned back to look at him.

"You've been acting pretty strangely over the past few days. I know they haven't said anything yet, but I want to know. What's going on?" Yuri looked at me accusingly; that expression didn't seem right on his face at all.

"Nothing's wrong!" I said waving my hands defensively. "I'm just…nervous for the upcoming fight, that's all."

That was a lie.

I knew that with the three treasure hunters on my side, we had a good chance of succeeding. Add Mavis the Fairy Tactician into the mix and we were going to win no matter what; planning out strategies was what she would become famous for anyways.

"Fine, fine. Just so you know: I'm not buying it." He said with a huff.

"Hey come on you guys, Precht and Warrod are waiting on us." Mavis called from behind us.

I brushed past Yuri and went to catch up with Mavis, falling into stride with the girl. Meanwhile Yuri trailed behind us with his hands shoved into his pockets. Being a founding member of the Fairy Tail guild wasn't something I was supposed to be a part of. Joining as a member of Fairy Tail was another thing I wasn't supposed to do. It wasn't my world. It was tampering with something that should've been left untampered with.

Before long, we made it to a smaller building on the opposite side of the outpost. Walking inside, it was what appeared to be an empty store house. In the middle of the room, Precht and Warrod hovered around a dusty table with gear laid out on top of it. "This should be everything we'll need for tomorrow." Precht started. "Now that you're all here it's time we moved out. There are still some minor details to discuss, but not here."

The fight was tomorrow.

It was the most pressing issue our group was facing, but it kept slipping from my own mind. The fact that it was taking place tomorrow meant that my time was used up. After freeing Magnolia I would be leaving.

And yet…

"Finn, you know you can trust us, right?" Mavis said interrupting my thoughts. Behind her Warrod and Precht were listening as they packed away the supplies. I still hadn't told them anything; not about my memories and not about my decision. I called these people my friends, but what kind of a friend was I to hide those kinds of secrets?

"I guess I really shouldn't be hiding this from you guys," I finally said. "I…What I need to tell you guys is…" I swallowed and found my fingers tugging at the edge of my jacket. While I had thought my own plan through multiple times over the past few days, I didn't know how to bring it up to them.

"Just say it already. We're wasting time." Precht said.

"I can't stay with you guys anymore," I blurted out.

"What?! Wait a second—Finn, what do you mean?" Yuri shouted out in protest. I shrank back at the bite of his words.

Steeling my nerves, I looked him straight in the eyes.

"I mean exactly what I said. I won't be troubling you anymore." I said, a frown forming at my face.

"And when were you going to tell us about this, huh?" Yuri demanded.

"Does this mean that you remember something?" Mavis interjected, keeping the situation under control. The look on her face was understanding and calm. It made me wonder how much she was letting on what she knew.

"I guess I can't hide that from you, eh Mavis?" I said dryly.

"You're about as subtle as a robber in broad daylight." Warrod commented. I glanced at him and shot him an apologetic smile. Beside him, Precht sat unmoved.

"I don't understand. Why does this mean you have to leave us right now?" Yuri said bitterly. "Did you not trust us before?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find any words to respond with. It wasn't something I could refute; with how close I had become with them the first thing I should have done was tell them. It wasn't like I would've been telling them that I knew the future.

But I only realized that now.

Was I really that afraid?

"After all the trouble we've been through, you're not going to leave on the eve of a fight are you?" Precht said disapprovingly.

"No," I said after a moment. "I'll stay with you guys until we free Magnolia from Blue Skull, but after that I'm gone. One thing is for certain that I can't stay."

I bit my lip; my words were coming out a lot harsher than I intended.

A loud slam echoed through the small cabin. Yuri had left out the door in a fit of anger…or maybe it was disappointment.

"Yuri…" I mumbled.

I looked back up at Precht, Warrod, and Mavis.

"I didn't mean for it to come out this way, but…Just please understand me when I say that I can't stay. I'm not from here and I need to get home."

"You mumbled something about that in your sleep a few nights ago." Mavis said thoughtfully.

I turned around towards the door, trying to figure out what to do about Yuri. Everyone else seemed at least a little more reasonable, but he was something else. I didn't want to end our friendship on that kind of note. "Let Yuri sulk; he's just pouting about something we knew was inevitable." Precht spoke up. He started walking for the door with Warrod following behind him. Grabbing at the tiny sheath at my waist, I untied the dagger and held it out to the man without a single thought.

"Keep it. We've still got a town to save."

With that, he walked out the door. Warrod gave me a reassuring smile before following, leaving me and Mavis alone.

"You know, my offer still stands." She said.

"Mavis…I'd love to take you up on that offer, but I can't,"

"And why not? There's not exactly anything that says otherwise. We're all a part of this group that was brought together by fate and nothing can change that after all."

I clenched my fists and found my gaze drawn to the wooden floors again.

What was this doubt that I suddenly had? Where was it coming from?

* * *

…

"How much longer?" Yuri asked.

"Be patient." Precht cautioned him.

As the two had stationed themselves at a vantage point among the trees, I sat and waited silently in the brush. Mavis' plan to save Magnolia had been put into motion, all starting with Warrod beginning the distraction. The three of us—me, Yuri, and Precht—were watching and waiting near the outskirts of the town. Any minute now we were expecting to see Mavis' signal. Mavis had been very clever with the plan's details. After going in and observing the conditions of the town, it wasn't long till she began creating a strategy.

Sending Warrod out to be the decoy, the two of them would take care of locking away the guild master while we would go into Magnolia and take out the other guild members and, in Yuri's plan, we'd retrieve the jade too. Without their master around, Mavis wagered that the members of Blue Skull would be weak enough for us to take out with our new found magics.

My hat was off to her; I got to see firsthand how Mavis worked and it was impressive. I'll admit, it made me ashamed of my own abilities; it only took her a day to come up with it. But even after the plan was created, one thing hadn't changed. Yuri was stubbornly refusing to talk to me. I didn't understand what exactly his problem was, but it had been getting on my nerves. He didn't even make eye contact with me; almost acting as if I didn't exist. Warrod even tried reassuring me that he would get over it eventually.

That was probably what I got for keeping a secret for so long; it was all childish, really.

"Move out." Precht said suddenly.

Yuri took to the command quickly and without hesitation darted away through the trees. Meanwhile I jumped to my feet and began trailing after alongside Precht.

"Are you prepared?" He asked without glancing at me.

"It's now or never." I said honestly.

I was actually beginning to feel nervous.

How the fight went for me would all whittle down to my own ability. With only a little more than a week's worth of training and practice, I needed to keep my focus. The spells in my arsenal were still limited; there were the basic magic spells our teacher had given me such as rain of light and flare, but then there were also other spells I had been working on too.

After sitting down with Mavis, she was the one who gave me many ideas of how light magic could be shaped. As it turned out, her own illusion magic worked in a similar way. And with any practice, I'd be well on my way to being a highly capable mage.

Taking what I also remembered from the anime, I tried making my own techniques akin to some more familiar moves: Natsu's iron fist move? I could pull that, though in a much flimsier form with light. Firing off a light beam? Sure, that too. But all that barely scratched the surface of what I could do and I knew that I was going to need much more if I wanted to get stronger; my magic reserves weren't top notch yet.

But since when did I actually care about my own strength as a mage?

I only wanted to get home.

"First one comin' at you!" Yuri shouted.

My eyes snapped up just in time to see him plow into a Blue Skull mage with a bolt of lightning. The man fell as soon as he made contact with it. With a holler of victory, Yuri continued forward.

We had reached the town and already. Some townspeople nearby saw what Yuri had done and ran towards their houses, locking the doors behind them. Precht had his throwing knives out at the ready too; the guild would start to be alert to our presence.

But the main fight wasn't taking place here. No, from what we had learned with Mavis and Zera's reconnaissance the Blue Skull members were going to be primarily encountered at the cathedral; that was where they were based, where the greatest bulk of them were. The ones we happened to run into now were simply the ones unlucky enough to run into us in the very streets they claimed to own.

"Whatcha doing girly?" a voice cackled.

I turned to see a blue skull member not too far from me; Yuri and Precht were already moving further into the town and I was alone on this one.

Just as the man went to grab ahold of the staff at his side, I lashed out.

Lunging towards the man, I summoned up enough courage to land the first blow. "Solar Strike!" I shouted, my fist colliding with the man's chest in a burst of light. In the blink of an eye, the man fell to the ground, whether or not he was dead, I brushed that fact aside and began running. Sticking close to Precht and Yuri was the best way for me to go.

My fingers still numb from the punch, I flexed my fingers and continued following the trail of wreckage. Compared to using a dagger though, magic felt more secure; Magic seemed more impersonal when it came to attacking, less…violent in a way.

Or maybe that idea was just my mind trying to reason out what I was doing.

Wiping sweat from my brow, I realized just how fast I was getting exhausted. I wasn't in top running condition, but I knew I had to continue. Plowing my way forward, I finally made my way into the cathedral right behind Yuri and Precht. Its old doors were wide open and I wasted no time jumping into the fray. The voices echoing off of the stone ceiling were almost deafening. Blinding flashes of magic were thrown left and right.

Somehow I managed to keep up with it all. It was almost as if I could see things happening in slow motion. I ducked and dodges spells as they came hurdling by my face. I fired back as quickly as I dodged, some of my magic burning into the stonework around us. A cluster of three wizards proved to be tougher than the rest, and somehow Yuri ended up beside me.

Not moving, he lashed out with a hailstorm of lightning bolts and caused the group to scatter. I picked off two of them by casting a rain of light down on them while Yuri knocked out the last one with a magic infused punch. In almost no time flat every single one of the guild members lay strewn across the stone floors in defeat. Needless to say, the three of us were winded from it all, covered in sweat and dirt from the whole fight.

But just as quickly as we had begun, it was all over.

Mavis' plan had worked.

I could hear Precht and Yuri talking. Turning my gaze in their direction, I saw what it was they were looking at. On the far end of the cathedral sat a small alter. And on that altar I could faintly make out a small cushioned pedestal at its center. The largest gemstone I had ever seen was perched on that pillow; the Tenrou jade. Yuri began to approach it and I narrowed my eyes; something didn't feel quite right about it. I walked over to stand beside Precht, edging closer to where the gem sat. Whatever kind of magic it was emitting, it didn't settle well with me; it seemed…cold and dark.

My eyes widened when I finally realized that Yuri was bending over the stone and carefully grabbing ahold of the pillow it sat on. He was completely oblivious to anything else around him, his attention fully focused on it.

I opened my mouth to warn him, but someone else already beat me to it.

"Yuri! Precht! Finn!"

Preacht and I turned around to see Mavis running in through the front door of the cathedral. Yuri slowly turned away from the Tenrou Jade, leaving it on the altar.

"I'm glad to see you guys get here so fast," I said in relief. Mavis' timing couldn't have been more perfect.

"Yeah, we're pretty much finished done here. Magic's powerful, I tell ya." Yuri said with a smug grin.

"And the Tenrou Jade?" Mavis said worriedly.

She knew something was up with it too, didn't she?

"Straight to the point?" Yuri asked pointedly. "You said it yourself that up until this point our missions would be the same."

"Where's the Tenrou Jade?!" She asked a bit more frantically.

My heart sank into my stomach when Yuri pulled out his hand from behind his back; he was holding the jade in his hands.

"Sorry, but I'm not about to give this up anytime soon. It's ours now."

"You mustn't touch that!" Mavis cried out in alarm.

"It's your island's heirloom, right? So—"

"Yuri, she's right. Drop it right now!" I finally shouted at him. Yuri focused his attention on me at first with an incredulous look before it turned into a glare. He continued to fiddle around with it in the palm of his hand.

"And what kind of a say do you have about this?" he said derisively. "Last I checked you're not a treasure hunter. You're an outsider."

"Yuri…" I said in shock.

I shook my head.

"This isn't the time for that! There's something really wrong with that stone, I can feel it!"

"What?" Precht questioned in shock. "Yuri, put the jade down!"

"You're just going to believe that?!" Yuri scoffed in response.

"It's the truth!" Mavis claimed.

"That's just a trap—a ruse—and I'm not falling for it."

There was a subtle shift in the air, sending a chill down my spine.

"Yuri!" I finally snapped. "Drop it right now!"

"I—"

As soon as Yuri tried to speak, a harsh light erupted from the jade in his hands. All three of us fell silent in an instant when Yuri found the guts to speak up again.

"What is—"

I jumped towards him, grabbing ahold of his arm to try and force him to drop it. At the same time, Precht got the idea and began reaching for Yuri as well. But then the light grew more intense and massive waves of powerful magic began erupting from the stone. I struggled to keep my grip on Yuri, but it was becoming too much. My grip was wrenched away from Yuri's arm and I was sent flying backwards; it felt as if I was being hit by a train.

Being thrown to the floor like a rag doll, I struggled to regain my senses as I crawled back onto my feet. Precht too hadn't been spared. I could hear Yuri's shouting, but with the noise radiating from the rippling waves of magic I couldn't tell what it was he was saying. And then in another burst of light, it was all gone, Yuri included.

Before any of us could even comprehend what had just happened, the ground buckled beneath our feet and a great roar echoed outside of the cathedral.

"What on earth just happened?" Precht shouted.

"He's been swallowed up by the jade's evil magic!" Mavis shouted back. "And to manifest itself further that evil magic has possessed and equally evil symbol."

"So the thing making that bone dragon move around is…"

"Oh my god. It's Yuri," I said shakily.

"Those are my thoughts." Mavis nodded solemnly.

* * *

…

I didn't know what was going to happen to Yuri.

None of us did.

All hell broke out throughout Magnolia. Outside of the cathedral, the air was filled with the shrill cries of the townspeople and the rumble of buildings collapsing. "At this rate…Yuri will destroy the town." I said to myself in realization. And was it my fault as well? Had I done something that caused this? Mavis' plan had included keeping innocent people out of the way; it was meant to be achieved in one fell swoop, but there we were in the middle of an epicenter of destruction.

"Mavis!" Precht shouted out. I broke out of my thoughts to see the girl making a mad dash outside of the cathedral. Following Precht, the both of us got out in time to see Mavis scale up a wooden ladder and on to the roof tops.

What was she thinking?!

She was calling out to him.

Above all the chaos being caused, Mavis was trying to reach out to Yuri. I could hear the determination in her voice, but I realized that more than just words would be needed to do something. With all of Mavis' shouting, she finally drew the skeletal dragon's attention. It appeared to take one long look in her direction before stirring.

This was bad.

Without even having to say a word, Precht disappeared in a flash, pulling Mavis out of the way as the dragon released a gigantic fireball from its maw. Pushing aside my own fear I used my magic to delay it, trying to fight back a blast of fire with a burst of light.

"Flare!"

I winced as the two energies collided, in an instant overtaking the roof she was on. My hands shook as I tried to keep it up and it didn't last for long. Flare wasn't a strong enough spell to hold off something like that. My spell did little to keep it at bay, but I noticed with relief that the two disappeared out of sight barely before the roof was hit. It was enough for now.

And then I was on my own. The smoke cleared revealing a gaping hole burned through the roof; it was completely obliterated. My eyes watered from the smoke as I tried waving away the remaining black clouds. I turned my head in attempt to find out where Mavis and Precht had gone to only to discover that I was being watched. As if to add to my uneasy thoughts, the pendant around my neck started to feel itchy; I needed to get out of there now. The dragon released another roar and started moving towards me, trampling the buildings around it under foot.

Coming to my senses, I turned heel and began running as fast I could in the opposite direction. The only reason why I could think it was coming after me in specific was that it _was_ Yuri; it had to be. He must have been more upset than I thought. And maybe—just maybe—this whole situation could have been avoided if I had just said something sooner.

"Dammit Yuri, I never meant for any of this to happen," I berated myself.

I flinched as a massive claw landing beside me; the dragon was already right on top of me and I didn't even realize it. I looked up at it with horror flooding my veins right as something gold started raining from the skies above.

Gold coins.

Illusion magic?

The dragon seemed to notice this as well and moved its gaze away from me, turning sharply around.

"Shit!" I cursed.

Almost in slow motion, I could see the tail of the dragon whipping towards me; there wasn't any time for me to avoid it. In response, I quickly stretched out my arms. That was when the wind was knocked out of my body. With the impact a gasp escaped my lips as I heard several cracks; and it wasn't the dragon that the noise came from.

Reacting fast though, my arms latched onto the rigid bones; I was along for the ride now—letting go was probably going to mean my death, and I didn't want that. I wanted to live. The tail was swaying with each step, violently shaking me to my core. Too terrified to let go and blinded by pain, I barely noticed where it was going until a massive pile of gold coins entered my vision.

It was Mavis' doing; all of the gold coins pouring from the sky were phasing right through it, but the dragon didn't notice. She had a plan figured out. And before I knew it, Mavis suddenly appeared from one of the roof tops above, leaping out onto the dragon's back with a look of determination. Perhaps Mavis would be able to save us from all of this.

I cried out in pain.

"Finn! You have to let go!" Mavis' voice came.

"What?" I choked out. "What are you planning?"

"Just trust in me!" She pleaded. Her voice sounded desperate. That was when it dawned on me: Mavis wasn't certain of what was going to happen. I was placing too much confidence in her, but the truth was that she was a young girl—younger than I was.

And we were both in a hopeless situation.

"Mavis!" I called out to her. "I—I'll take you up on that offer!"

Screw the consequences. Fairy Tail was already going to be found at this point; I was nearly a hundred years in the story's past, so what sort of affect would my presence actually have on the future? Mavis had been right; there wasn't anything keeping me from staying. I wasn't home and deep down inside…I just knew that returning home wasn't going to be an option; it was nothing but random chance.

I needed to let go.

"We'll talk about that later, okay?" She shouted back. There was a smile in her voice, I could feel it.

All of a sudden, the dragon's tail jerked and I felt nothing but the air beneath me; I had been launched off of it. The wind was whipping past my face as I began to fall downward. I had to do something and fast. With the rate I was falling, I was going to end up a stain on the sidewalk. I clasped my hands together in front of me, trying to focus. The only idea I had was to try and use my own magic to cushion my fall. Squeezing my eyes shut, I began gathering energy, wrapping it around myself.

The world seemed to go quiet all of a sudden, and I heard a single word uttered.

"Law!"

From behind my eyelids a bright light erupted into existence; it was stronger than the sun. I could feel it taking ahold of me, coating the air.

And then all of a sudden, everything went dark right as I crashed into the ground.

* * *

…

My body was numb and my eyes wouldn't open.

Even breathing was hard.

Surrounding me were the muffled voices of strangers muttering in shock.

My fingers twitched slightly; maybe I was getting somewhere. The evil presence of the Tenrou Jade was no more which made me feel a little at ease. It meant that Mavis had succeeded. Everything was going to be okay now. I took a deep breath, moaning in pain. My ribs were definitely broken, but I at least had survived the fall. Listening to the people speaking, I couldn't exactly tell where I had landed. I must have ended up crashing through the roof of someone's house.

But something was missing.

I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Some new voices finally started speaking, causing the muttering of the other people to stop. The room was engulfed in silence except for the sound of footsteps rushing in my direction. Whoever it was knelt down my side, checking my wrist for a pulse.

My hand gripped onto the person's arm weakly.

It was familiar; the faint magic energy surrounding them was familiar. I knew who it was, but couldn't shake off this strange feeling. "Sorry…for keeping it…secret…Yuri" I wheezed finally finding the strength to speak; there was a metallic tang on my tongue. Unable to hold on any longer, I let go. "Everythin's gonna… fine now."

Yuri made it.

It was him.

"Who—she…Scared the s—of them—came from nowhere."

"Calm—seems familiar…"

I didn't know what was happening around me as everything started blurring together. I couldn't tell if I was moved somewhere or if I was in the same place as before. All I could tell was that I was in pain. I didn't even remember at what point that I lost consciousness after that.

It just happened.

But everything was going to be fine now. And after all this is over, Fairy Tail was going to be formed.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to go on another adventure with them.

Yuri, Warrod, Precht…Mavis.

* * *

...

Author's Note: Hello everyone, I know it's been quite awhile since I've last updated. Things were starting to get a little bumpy for me, but with any luck I'll be able to get together a solid schedule to update this story; and not just this one. This story is fresh off the press, so please ignore any slight errors there may be.

I actually went back and edited most of the previous chapters too. What with the anime actually reaching this point I actually made a few minor adjustments such as the spelling of Yuri's name (can't count how many different forms I came across) and Precht's own appearance. I did that to smooth out the story and line it up a little more with those facts in mind; that said some things are probably different compared to the anime, but it happens.

So we got to see some of Finn's magic in action. At the moment it's not much, especially since she's only had it for about a week. In time she'll get stronger and her own magic will adapt in time. And Finn has also found some sort of resolve at last, but what'll happen now?

And I wanted to give a huge shout out to **Shadowjab17** for helping me with ideas for Finn's magic! It was actually something that I was quite stumped about, but have finally got some plans in mind. We'll be seeing a lot more of it in the future to come.

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Picking up the pieces**

* * *

...

"You need to wake up, Finn."

"What?"

My eyes opened, but the only thing I could see was darkness. Panning around the area only revealed the sight of a distant figure; a girl who looked to be about Mavis' age. Her wavy hair was a rich brown color with eyes to match and she was dressed in an orange top.

I didn't know who this girl was.

"Who are you?" I asked curiously.

The girl tilted her head with a close-eyed smile and clasped her hands behind her back. "You already know who I am, but I guess you've never actually seen me." She answered.

"Zera?"

"Chalk one up on the board; that's right." Zera responded back humorously.

"I don't understand. What happened? Where is everybody else? And why can I see you now?" I asked with one question spilling from my lips after another.

"Hey slow down!" She said with a pout. "Geez, you can't expect me to have all the answers. I'm just the messenger, okay?"

"Messenger?"

Zera waved my question aside. "Look, what you need to know right now is that you have to wake up. But…just a little warning: things are going to be a bit different."

"Wait, different how?" I asked in concern. "Did I…Did I end up changing something after all?"

"Tsk tsk. And here we thought you actually made up your mind about things already." Zera said in exasperation.

"No, you're right. I did." I said reaffirming myself. "I'm going to be a part of Fairy Tail. I…the thing is, you have to wonder why I ended up where I was. It got me thinking that maybe I'm here for a reason, right?"

That was what I had begun to mull over as soon as Mavis came up with her plan to overthrow Blue Skull. It made me question whether or not there was some meaning behind me ending up in Fiore, and right alongside Fairy Tail's founding members too.

Regardless of whichever circumstances I disappeared under, I couldn't ignore the gut feeling that maybe…just maybe it was fate.

That was what Mavis had said too.

It was fate that brought us together.

"Don't go all philosophical on me now. That's for you to find out and not to discuss here. Anyways…" she trailed off scratching the back of her hair. "I guess I should say that it was nice meeting you at least this once."

"Hang on a second," I said reaching out my hand towards her.

But as soon as I did that, Zera began to disappear from my sight, her bright orange shirt fading in with the darkness around it.

"Wait! At least tell me what's changed!" I called out.

"You'll just have to see for yourself, but don't worry Finn." Zera's voice echoed from within the darkness. "And remember this: We keep our fairies in our hearts."

* * *

…

My eyes snapped open and I inhaled sharply.

The first thing that I could see was a wooden ceiling above me; I was in a small room that looked like a tiny infirmary. On my left was a curtain shielding away the rest of the room while at my right was a window that was cracked open, allowing a soft breeze to flow through the room. On the little nightstand beside me a small vase of fresh yellow flowers sat quietly adding a pop of color to the room.

That told me someone had been by recently.

I sat up slowly.

There wasn't any pain anymore. My ribs weren't throbbing and I could breathe again. Bringing up a hand in front of my eyes, I flexed my fingers; I had never felt so alive before. All of the fatigue I didn't even know I had was gone.

Glancing down, I could I was wearing a set of pale blue clothes. Not quite a hospital gown, the clothes sat against my frame resembling more of pajamas than anything else. The only thing I could identify was the small silver pendant around my neck; it was the only thing that remained, the rest of my belongings out of sight. But on the bright side I noticed that there wasn't a bandage in sight covering my skin.

Shifting my legs slightly, I turned towards the edge of the bed and watched the curtains along the window flapping in the wind. Mavis, Precht, Warrod, and Yuri weren't anywhere in sight; I was completely alone in the room. The one thing that gave me comfort was the vase of flowers. The vase had daffodils in them; a flower that I recalled Warrod liked a lot. He had pointed them out once on our travels and talked about how charming they were, yet so simple.

I laughed at the memory before sitting back in the bed against the pillows.

It was odd not seeing any of them at my bedside with how used to it I was; whether I had been sleeping or from the time I was injured, one of them was always there. Judging by how well I was healed up, I managed to conclude that I had been out for a while, though for how long I wasn't sure. That meant that they were probably running the guild already.

"Oh my goodness, it's a miracle!" A shrill voice sounded, tearing me away from my thoughts. I winced as I turned in the direction of the speaker; it was a nurse who was in her twenties with sandy blond hair tied up in a bun. She was looking at me with the biggest grin I had ever seen. The nurse eagerly approached my bedside, having fully pushed aside the curtains that blocked out the other half of the room.

"You've been out for a long time miss," She continued as she pulled up a seat on the small chair tucked away in the corner of the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Um…Fine, I guess. Just a little out of it is all." I said finding my voice.

"Give me one moment, please." She said before running out of the room in excitement. Not a few minutes later the nurse came back in and pulled up a chair by my bedside. "The doctor will be by shortly to run you through some tests."

"Excuse me, but how long was I out for?" I asked her before she said anything else.

"Oh, well, and please don't be shocked when I say this, but you were in a coma for at least two months."

"t-two months?!" I asked in shock.

"And with the condition you were in, it's incredible how quickly you've recovered. You had several broken ribs and internal bleeding. On top of that you had a nasty concussion. Several of the doctors were convinced that you wouldn't wake up at all."

"Ah man, what did I miss in that time?" I said rubbing the back of my head. The nurse kept chatting with me, asking me a few questions and then rambling off on a random story. Not that I didn't appreciate her enthusiasm, but I quickly found her getting on my nerves; I wanted to see Warrod and Precht, to talk to Mavis and Yuri again, not some stranger.

And then the lady finally asked one last question.

"Ah, I've forgotten to ask. What's your name?"

"My name?" I repeated blankly. I looked at her with an eyebrow raised as if to ask if she was serious. She stared back at me passively waiting for my response.

She didn't know my name?

"It's Finn Hackett. I guess my friends didn't tell you my name, did they?" I paused for a moment in thought. "Hey, do you know where Yuri is? I need to talk to him."

This whole mess with Blue Skull was finally over. With everything that happened, I didn't realize how much I wanted to speak with him; to tell him how sorry I was. They all meant a lot to me though, not just Yuri.

I needed to remember to tell them that.

"Yuri?" the nurse asked in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about."

"What?" I asked. "I'm sure you must be mistaken about that. He's tall with blond hair and a sassy attitude; he's kinda hard to miss really. I know that he was there when…" The nurse's eyes narrowed in contemplation and I found myself sitting straight up and watching her closely. In my mind, I began to worry; what if Yuri didn't survive? Pushing that dark thought aside, I quietly reassured myself that that wasn't the case.

I knew that Yuri had been there when I crashed into the ground; it was his magic, no doubt about it. The thing about magic was that it had a unique feel to each person. That was what I noticed when I was learning how to use my own spells.

It had to be Yuri's.

"Oh! Never mind that then," the nurse said in realization. "I believe I know who you're talking about."

I sank back into the mountain of pillows behind me in relief.

"You…you had me worried there for a second."

That was another answer found. It was that along with the flowers; they were all here and alive. We successfully freed Magnolia and Yuri was safe. He wasn't trapped in the form of a cursed monster anymore.

A light bulb went off in my mind and I sat up again.

"Oh yeah!" I glanced at the flower vase before continuing. "If Yuri isn't here, what about Warrod? Is he around?"

"You mean Warrod Sequen? As a matter of fact he is. You woke up at the right time, he was just finishing up his monthly visit. Actually, he'll be here pretty soon. Laura just went to find him. But before that, the doctor should be here any minute."

I assumed that Laura was the name of another nurse.

"Here, while you wait why don't you drink some water? I'm sure that with your circumstances you must be thirsty." My throat was a little dry so I nodded in agreement. I watched as the nurse poured water out from a nearby pitcher into a small glass before handing it to me. "You have friends in high places, Miss Finn." She remarked as I took a sip of the water.

"High places?" I then asked jokingly. "What, is Magnolia already doing hero worshiping?"

"Well, he is one of the ten wizard saints."

At that statement, I felt my blood run cold.

"Wait, what did you say?" I asked her almost frantically letting the glass slip from my hands. It landed on the floor with a crash and shattered into pieces. The nurse jumped at my reaction, quickly standing up from her chair.

"Goodness me, I didn't mean to surprise you. I'll be right back; I need to find a broom." Without even waiting for me to respond, the lady walked out of the room, leaving me alone, staring at her retreating backside.

 _One of the ten wizard saints._

Surely she was joking.

My heart beginning to pound in my chest, I threw aside the covers and scrambled to my feet. Black spots coated my vision and I stumbled forward; my legs were heavy and felt so weak almost like a newborn faun. Unable to do anything else, I grabbed ahold of the nightstand to stabilize myself, knocking over the vase of flowers.

What she said wasn't right. Warrod became one of the wizard saints many years after Fairy Tail was founded…right?

With my hands trembling I slowly crept over to the window to look outside. Pushing the curtain aside, my eyes were met by the sight of a sprawling town stretching out into the distance. I blinked in confusion as I scanned it over, hardly believing what I was seeing. My knuckles turned white as my grip against the window sill tightened.

The houses and buildings before me weren't the ones I saw in Magnolia; instead of the crumbling structures I expected to see there were homes made of brick and some of concrete. I was looking at a town that was filled with life and color. And then there in the distance sat the tall, distinguished spires of the infamous cathedral looming above the town's skyline.

"Kardia Cathedral…" I mumbled under my breath.

This wasn't my Magnolia.

But why?

How?

Where were Yuri and Precht? And where was Mavis? Magnolia looked completely brand new and Warrod was one of the ten wizard saints. If those two factors were pointing to what I thought they were pointing to…

I shook my head, pushing away those thoughts. I had just seen them not too long ago; we fought side by side to free Magnolia and then Yuri was absorbed by the jade. We fought that dragon and then…and then what?

Mavis had cast a spell and I blacked out.

Releasing my hold on the window, the room seemed to be spinning around me and I couldn't do anything about it. I slowly sank down onto the ground with my back pressing against the cool wall. The world seemed to go still as I sat there in silence.

There wasn't any logical reason behind any of it and I refused to believe it.

But then where were my friends?

If this was truly the future, then I already knew the answer to that. Warrod was with the Magic Council. Precht was still around too, but I couldn't recall where. And Mavis was…

Mavis was gone.

And Yuri was gone too.

My breathing hitched and my chest felt a lot tighter than it was supposed to.

They were both gone. If I was lucky I would run into Mavis again, but even then it wouldn't really be her; just a ghost; an image. But then Yuri…

I would never be able to speak to him again.

I wouldn't be able to tell him how sorry I felt.

In fact, I never got to say goodbye to any of them.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I folded my arms over my knees and rested my head on top of them. This must have been what Zera was trying to tell me about. I couldn't just deny what I was seeing in front of my own eyes.

It was real—undeniably real.

"Miss Hackett!" The nurse's voice came. "Are you alright?"

Shutting my eyes, I shrank away from the voice. I didn't need this stranger here to comfort me; I wanted to be alone. But as soon as I did that, I heard footsteps. Not responding I remained still as they got closer to me.

"Please stay away from me." I warned quietly.

"But you did ask to see me. Were these old ears mistaken?"

My back stiffened; it sounded a little different, but I knew that voice.

Opening my eyes, I looked up to see who it was that spoke. It was an old man, tall and built above average height with a green robe donned over his figure and a gnarled looking staff in his hands. My eyes froze up over his head, distracted by its tree like features, but the face I found myself looking into had a wrinkled, jovial smile of a human being.

"W-Warrod?" I asked hesitantly. The joking look on the old man's face disappeared and was replaced by an easy going smile—one that I recognized right away.

It was him…

"Hey, that's my name." he said in fond amusement. The man kneeled beside me with the same smile as I tentatively reached out a hand, grabbing his sleeve; I wanted to make sure that he was real. My chin quivered with an unshakable frown as I felt the soft fabric beneath my fingertips. "Probably not the way you're used to seeing me, eh?" He teased lightly holding out his hand to me. Taking his hand I slowly stood up and after letting go, I wrapped my arms around him in a loose hug.

"I don't understand…" I said trying to choke back a sob.

What happened for everything to become so messed up?

"A lot has changed, yes, but you certainly haven't!" Warrod said with a light chuckle. "It's not supposed to rain today, don't you know? The sun is out and shining; everything is fine."

I pulled away from Warrod and looked up at him.

The sun?

" _How to say it…You kind of remind me of the sun. It's something that's bright and keeps on shining despite how many clouds are in the sky."_

Despite myself, I forced a small smile onto my face and wiped away the tears.

"Yeah, everything is fine."

Home was gone and now the people who I went as far to see as family were practically gone too; eaten away by time. It was over a hundred years…how well did Warrod really remember me?

What kind of trials did all of them face over the passing time? And even with the smile, on the inside I felt my heart tearing apart; perhaps the only thing I could do in this situation was to put on a brave face and move forward, but… It was all so bitter.

How was I supposed to deal with this now?

* * *

...

Warrod had gotten me out of the hospital.

My things were being held by the staff and soon I found myself wearing my old clothes again. My hiking boots were admittedly torn up and my cargo pants were ratty looking and after supposedly crashing into Kardia Cathedral with them, how could they not? My phone had disappeared too. The only things in good condition were the mustard colored jacket and Precht's dagger which was strapped back at my side. Having my things back did provide some sort of security, but it couldn't cover up how hollow I felt, how exposed I was.

I was in a different time.

After that I found myself walking beside Warrod down one of the many wide paved streets of Magnolia. We walked by the occasional passerby who would look at Warrod with respect and awe. Their eyes would occasionally land on me as if to question who the sad girl was beside him. "It looks a lot different." I remarked, my eyes traveling across the street. This Magnolia looked like it did in the anime, nothing at all compared to the one I was in. This was what it became after the fight, after Fairy Tail was formed.

The people here were happy and thriving.

"What happened after it? What was that spell Mavis used?" I suddenly asked, my feet stopping. We were by one of the canals; the sun was reflecting off the water in an orange hue. Warrod moved to stand beside me.

"Law." He said reluctantly. "It had freed Yuri and destroyed the jade in the process finally saving Magnolia the way we wanted to. But in the end we realized that you were gone; completely vanished without a trace."Warrod paused in silence looking out over the water. "Precht and I searched for three days, but you never turned up. When he finally recovered, Yuri was crushed to find that out—we all were. And it was Mavis though who had convinced us all that you had somehow survived."

"What are you leaving out of it?" I asked catching him off guard. "I know there's something else."

Warrod sighed before continuing.

"The spell that Mavis used was an incomplete magic. When she cast it she wasn't sure of what the results would be but in desperation did it to save Yuri. She said we were her friends, her treasure, and that she wanted to protect us. In the end though, it cost Mavis' body her own ability to age." Warrod glanced at me, a look in his eyes that I couldn't read.

"She hypothesized that it was in fact the same magic that had sent you away, though she couldn't explain how, only that it was because of your proximity to her."

"I was still pretty close to her, wasn't I?" I said speaking up. "The dragon…or I guess Yuri threw me off of him and sent me sailing through the air. And I tell you I was sure that I would splatter on the ground after that; I even tried covering myself in my own magic to soften the blow."

I let out a single chuckle.

"Shows what good that did."

Warrod turned around and began walking away from the edge of the canal, his staff clicking on the ground.

"Perhaps…it was the very thing that caused you to disappear in the first place."

"What?"

"Speaking quite frankly the spell she used was highly unpredictable. And for all we truly know, maybe that's what happened; maybe it amplified your magic to a point where it caused this." I tilted my head in confusion, trying to follow Warrod's thinking. How in the world did he surmise time travel from light? The two were virtually unconnected in every way.

"I know what you're thinking. You still have your doubts about the power of light." He turned to me with a slight smirk. "Surely you've realized by now that light is capable of many things. It can simply be used to blot out the darkness, confuse the eyes of man, and even travel through time and space to reach the flowers and the trees on earth. It's what keeps us all living."

"But even so, how can you get time travel from all of this?" I said back in disbelief.

"Heh. You'll have to discover that on your own. Ahahaha!" Warrod said bursting into laughter. I sat there for a few minutes watching him laugh, silently wondering if I missed something.

"Hey, come on!" I said with a protest. After watching him a few minutes doubled over by his own laughter, I ended up shaking my head at his antics, a genuine smile crossing my face. Warrod was still Warrod. "Okay, okay," I finally interrupted him. "You've had your fun now, but it's getting late. We need to be heading home by now."

I started to walk away when I froze up again.

I didn't have any idea where I was going at all.

"Home, you say?" Warrod said catching my attention. "You never did mention to us where that was."

"I…" I trailed off in thought. "You know, I never really did tell you guys anything about me, did I? After I remembered?"

I looked back at Warrod who stood straight up now and was watching me attentively.

"I had a mother and a father. Dad was in the military at some point and Mum was a teacher. There was also my older sister Ruth and she was…well, she was a character. But anyways, I was from a small town in a small state in a country known as the United States. You've probably never even heard of it before." I fixed my gaze on the sun in the distance as Warrod remained in complete silence.

"You see, the thing is that no matter where you look on a map, you'll never find it here. And the reason why is because I was never from your world in the first place." I admitted quietly. "Right from the beginning I never knew or understood how I got here; heck, I never knew that a place like this was real." It had been awhile since I actually thought about home, and since I realized how much I really missed them. That had all been pushed aside when we were going on our adventure, when we were fighting.

Did I give up on it entirely? No, because I believed that there was a way that I could make it back, a magic that I could discover. But now…

"And you know what else?" I asked Warrod emptily. "There's no way that I'd be able to find my way back to where I belong. To tell you the truth, with all the time that's gone by, I...I'm not even sure I have a home to return to anymore." That was another thing that had skipped my mind entirely: I didn't just lose close friends, but I lost all my certainty about home too. More than a century passed me by in the blink of an eye, and who was to say that time wouldn't be the same back home?

I really was alone.

A hand on my shoulder broke me out of my thoughts; Warrod was standing before me with a look of understanding in his eyes. "You always have a home to return to, you'll see. That's where we're going right now. After all the time that's gone by, you don't think we all went our separate ways, now did you?"

"The guild." I said in realization. "Mavis said that she wanted to create a guild with us."

"And she was persistent about it. You should have been there when we were suggesting names. Precht wanted to call it 'Precht Brothers' Hah! Yuri even thought he was joking about it at first."

"And what did you decide on?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Warrod's Gardeners."

"Wha—?!" I let my mouth hang open in shock.

That is, right before Warrod began laughing again. "It's a joke," he said waving his hand dismissively and trying to calm himself. "Its name is Fairy Tail. After a few minutes of bickering about it we asked Mavis about it and that was the name she chose. She went into a whole spiel about it, asking the question of whether or not fairies have tails."

"I figured." I said with a fond smile. "Hang on a second…you said you'll see. Does that mean we're going to the guild?"

"Where else?" He said with a smile as he started walking.

"Wait, am I actually allowed to join? You guys…want me there?" I said in disbelief.

"Of course! That was one of the ideas from the beginning. Technically speaking you are one of its founding members, are you not? Mavis did say that you decided to stay with us."

"I…I guess I did, didn't I?" I asked sheepishly.

That was what I said to her last.

I said that I wanted to stay with them; to create the guild together.

"Hurry up! As you said, time's a wasting!"

Realizing how far Warrod was getting from me, I started running to catch up with him. For an old man he was pretty spry, even if he was using a staff.

"Oh yeah, hey Warrod? Why do you use that?" I asked pointing to his staff. "You seem like you'd be able to walk fine without it."

"Hm, this?" He said holding the staff in his hand. "I use it for magic; made it myself and it comes in handy."

He used a staff for magic?

And he said he made it himself. I couldn't help but wonder how it worked, what kind of a difference it made.

Did he maybe use it as an actual, physical weapon?

That wasn't a half bad idea.

"You probably haven't changed much with your magic either." Warrod finally noted. "Don't worry about it; the guild will be the perfect place to work on it and craft it."

"I wouldn't have expected it any less." I said with a faint smile.

We walked a little further, turning onto a road that looked like a straight shot through the heart of Magnolia. Straining my eyes, I could see at the end of the road a familiar building.

It was Fairy Tail.

* * *

…

I stood outside of the doors, a loud noise coming from within them.

It sounded like there was an all-out brawl happening. Turning my head, I looked uncertainly at Warrod and he returned my gaze with a small chuckle. He was expecting me to go in there? All of a sudden, I wasn't feeling so sure of this right now.

What if I didn't get along with them?

Would I have to fight my way through?

If that was the case I would end up falling on my arse in a heartbeat; I was in no condition to deal with this yet.

Before I could voice my concern to Warrod, however, he opened up the doors without a second thought. I shrieked when a barrel came hurdling past us, barely ducking in time to avoid it as Warrod casually side stepped. And then with one foot in the door, the commotion began to quiet down almost instantly. Sticking close behind the man, I walked in with him, finally seeing Fairy Tail's guild hall with my own eyes.

I never thought it would've been possible.

Faces that I recognized stood out among the crowd. Macao was sitting at one of the tables closest to the entrance along with his best friend Wakaba, a mug in both of their hands; and with Wakaba's hair they were kind of hard to miss. Elfman's tall figure was in the distance and I saw a young woman sitting at the bar with a massive barrel obscuring her face. It was Cana, no doubt. But just as I was about to look for more faces, I quickly realized something: All of them were staring at us.

I almost forgot that Warrod was one of the ten wizard saints…and also a member of the magic council, right? Now that was quite the entrance to make; I guarantee that over half of the wizards there thought that Warrod was there to punish them or something.

That was what kind of stare it was.

Reaching the bar, Warrod began speaking to a lady behind it with striking white hair: Mirajane Strauss. She was the only one seemingly unfazed by his presence, giving him a welcoming smile. "Is Makarov around?" He asked simply. His words echoed across the now silent guild hall and I began to feel very self-conscious.

"There's no need to ask." Another voice cut in before Mirajane could respond. Turning my head to the side, I finally saw the master of Fairy Tail himself walking out of what appeared to be a small back room. He was really as short as he was in the show, with the striped orange hat on his head barely making his height appear a little taller.

Upon seeing who it was that asked for him, Makarov's eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Here, why don't we take this to my office away from prying eyes?" He politely suggested. Warrod agreed and we followed the short guild master back into the room, shutting the door behind us. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence?"

Makarov must have had a lot of respect for Warrod. In the anime his character acted a lot differently, but then again Warrod was a founding member of Fairy Tail. Maybe that was why.

"No honor at all," Warrod said with a casual wave of his hand. "I've come to ask a favor of you." He stepped aside and motioned for me to stand beside him. Fidgeting with my hands I walked forward, trying my best to hide my nervousness. "This is Finn, she's an old friend of mine and also a mage. I was hoping you could welcome her to the guild by my personal recommendation. You see, I still have much to deal with over in Era and I am unable to help her out with her situation."

"My name's Finn Hackett." I said finding the nerve to speak. I wasn't about to ride this whole conversation in silence. "I probably have much to learn but… please accept me into your guild!"

Makarov glanced at me with a curious look in his eyes before a smile crossed his face.

"Why not? There's plenty of room in our hall for anyone with a strong heart." He said. "I'm curious, you said old friend. How long have you known this girl?"

Oh boy.

Warrod clapped a hand down on my shoulder and looked at Makarov with a massive grin on his face. "Why, since before the founding of Fairy Tail itself." He said casually.

"What?!" Makarov exclaimed, his mouth agape.

"Yep." Warrod responded before his face turned serious. "A couple of months back, do recall an incident that happened at Kardia Cathedral?"

"Yes, I remember very well. A girl crashed through the roof out of nowhere in a flash of light. How could I not know this when my own grandson was there?"

Grandson? And then it hit me: he was talking about Laxus. Laxus had been at the cathedral. Was he the one who found me? But then…he was the source of the magic I felt, the one that I thought was Yuri's. My face dropped into a frown.

I had thought that it was Yuri's magic when it was Laxus'.

That's when I finally remembered something else.

Laxus was Yuri's great grandson.

And Makarov was his son.

Warrod's hand squeezed my shoulder reassuringly after he continued to speak, bringing me back to attention. "Finn, I suppose you already know by now that this is Master Makarov, but did you know that he's—"

"Yuri's son." I answered contemplatively. A hint of surprise entered Warrod's eyes, but he didn't do anything except nod his head. I almost wanted to cry saying that. It was actually starting to sink in that... I still couldn't believe that he was gone. I don't think that I wanted to believe it. And without waiting for Makarov to say anything else, Warrod reached into his robes, pulling out what appeared to be a paper and holding it in front of the guild master.

"I believe this is also sufficient proof." He said cheerfully. I watched as the man handed over the paper. Makarov glimpsed at it, his eyes darting back to look at me before handing the mysterious paper back. "I suppose you'll be left in capable hands now. Perhaps in the future you can come by Era and visit."

"Wait, so you're leaving me now?" I asked in a panic. "I mean, I understand that you're probably busy and everything, but you…there's still so much you haven't told me about yet; a lot of things that I don't know about."

"With all the time that has gone by we are still friends, are we not?"

"Yes…" I responded uncertainly.

"I promise to tell you of it one day, perhaps over a cup of tea, but for now that is all that matters; that we once were and still are your friends no matter where time has taken us. Sometimes it is better to focus on the here and now rather than waste away thinking of what could have been or what could not have been."

As Warrod's words registered in my mind, I began to realize that he was right. Knowing about the past—about what had happened to all of them—it would only distract me, make me sad. And he knew that. He wasn't telling me because of that very reason; Warrod was trying to help me as best he could by being there when I woke up and now by leaving me in the hands of people he trusted.

And I should've been grateful for it.

"Here," Warrod said holding out the paper in his hands. "I brought this along with me ever since you appeared that day. Mavis would have wanted you to have it." I looked him questioningly before taking the paper in my hands and looking at it for myself.

It was a photograph.

It was the same picture from the anime that was of Mavis, Yuri, Warrod, and Precht; the one from the founding of Fairy Tail. The four of them were standing outside of the newly built Fairy Tail guild hall, all of them smiling.

But there was something else that caught my attention, something that caused my eyes to tear up.

It was the fact that in the picture standing beside Mavis was another person.

It was me.

I was right there beside all of them, wearing my yellow jacket and smiling as if nothing happened. And then I couldn't help but wonder…Maybe this was what things could have been after that day.

"How?" I asked finally looking back at Warrod.

"You tell me." He said amusedly.

"Mavis's magic." I said answering myself. Mavis had used her magic to put my memory into a photograph. Even after I was gone, she didn't forget me; none of them did. I bet that they didn't know at the time that I would end up receiving the picture almost a century later. "You know…I think I've held you up for long enough." I said lowering the picture in my hand. "You've probably got things to do with the magic council and yet here I am talking your ear off. I think I'll be okay now."

I smiled.

"And when things have settled down, expect for me to visit you. I can only imagine the kind of plants you've collected over the years and I can't wait to see them!"

"Take care of yourself." Warrod then said before turning back to Makarov with a gleam in his eye. "And I trust you'll try to keep Fairy Tail out of just a little trouble, eh?"

I myself turned to look at the old guild master.

Makarov had been oddly silent the entire time, but looking at him now I could see why. He had paled considerably, seemingly stunned by the whole turn of events that he just witnessed. Or maybe it was the fact that Warrod had just told him to keep Fairy Tail out of trouble.

It was probably a joke.

And just as I turned back to look at Warrod again, he was gone.

He had left already.

"You take care of yourself too, dear friend." I said softly.

* * *

…

"Don't you want to meet everyone?" Makarov asked.

A few minutes had passed and the man had finally come to his senses. With Warrod's presence gone, I could hear the chatter of the guild from outside the office door too. Compared to before, it had calmed down considerably and there weren't any sounds of a brawl happening.

"What, not going to ask me any other questions?" I asked skeptically. Makarov was acting very calmly about the whole situation which was a complete turnaround from his mood earlier. I was pretty sure that he must have had at least some questions he wanted to ask.

Who wouldn't?

But anyways, it wasn't like I was stalling or anything by bringing it up…What with a whole guild to introduce myself to.

"Believe it or not, in all of my years this isn't the strangest thing that's happened." He answered back pensively.

"Hmph," I snorted. "Yuri…he said something exactly like that before. This world is just full of surprises that way."

And it didn't seem like those surprises would stop. It felt like waking up in the woods all over again; I was back to square one, right where I started and I had no clue what would happen. The only difference this time was that I still had my memories and that I knew for certain that home wasn't really there for me anymore; I basically had nobody.

"So what now?" I asked Makarov honestly. "Where does everything go from here? With all the time that's gone by, I'm afraid I don't really know where to pick things back up again."

"Well, that's up for you to decide, but whatever you choose your fellow guild members will be right there beside you." Makarov said encouragingly.

I clenched my fist, feeling nervousness well up in my stomach. After I left that office, there would be no turning back; it would be my first step forward, a step that would lead me away from all of my time with _them_.

With Warrod and Precht and Yuri and Mavis.

For the first time in a while I was actually starting to feel scared.

Why?

Because I didn't want my memories of them to fade. As short of a time it may have been they had become everything to me in the absence of my own family and memories. It seemed wrong to continue without them, especially because it was only yesterday to me that I had last talked to them.

I glanced down at the picture in my hands once more. Their smiling faces looked back up at me, but then I noticed something. A corner of the picture had been bent over slightly, a small black spot showing on what was supposed to be glossy white paper. Out of curiosity, I flipped it over revealing black letters; a hand written note.

" _No matter where you are, know that we're always thinking of you. And remember this one thing: We keep our fairies in our hearts."_

It was Mavis' handwriting.

Carefully tucking away the picture within my jacket, I looked down at Makarov who was waiting patiently by the door. Walking over by his side, I nodded to him.

"Okay. I think I'm ready now, so let's go."

Makarov opened the door, his voice booming so as to grab everyone's attention. In a matter of seconds the guild hall fell quiet once again; I was the center of attention again, but I tried my best to keep my head held high to look at them in the eyes.

"I'd like to introduce our guild's newest member," Makarov said extending a hand in my direction. "Everyone, this is Finn Hackett! Let's give her our welcome to Fairy Tail!"

* * *

…

Hey Mavis.

You said that no matter what, our friends are always in our hearts; that was what you were trying to tell me, right? Well, I've heard those words. I guess I'm just having a hard time taking it all in. Right now hardly anything seems real anymore. It all feels like a dream, one I feel like I would wake up from.

But I suppose I'll do what I've done before; put on a brave face and do my best to move forward. The thing is it might take me a while to do that though. Just give me a little time, okay? And I can promise you this: I will never forget.

Don't worry though, eventually I'll look back at those memories and remember them fondly. I think that was the first time I ever realized what it truly was to be alive; to be among friends and on an adventure. And maybe someday fate will bring us all together again; maybe I could even introduce you guys to my family too, who knows?

But until then, Mavis, do you think you can do me a favor?

Do you think you could apologize to Yuri for me?

* * *

...

Author's note: So far so good, I managed to get this chapter together in a timely manner thanks to **Shadowjab17**. It helps to have another set of eyes to look over the details and to discuss and create new ideas with, and I can't begin to say how much I appreciate it.

This chapter ended up being quite the change from the last one, something that I intended to happen all along. Finn has been torn away from her new found friends and is left to deal with the shock of it. It'll probably be a while though before any of that happens. This makes room for the story to progress, leading up to the current timeline.

Feel free to share any thoughts and let me know what you guys think!

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Beginning Anew**

* * *

...

The people at Fairy Tail were different.

One moment they would be clashing with each other in a free-for-all and then in the next they would be talking and joking together as if nothing ever happened. It was as if somebody was flipping a switch to turn the lights on, revealing the differences between night and day. But overall, the first impression I got from them was that they were welcoming. And it wasn't just the people, but the guild hall too.

For once, there was this feeling in the back of my mind that I could belong there.

And no sooner had Makarov opened his mouth, I found myself being sucked into the fray that was Fairy Tail. The guild had cheered and now everyone was in a festive mood. My mind wasn't even really given the time to process what happened; it was almost too much to even register at all. It was only when Mirajane had asked me about where I wanted my guild mark that my thought process reconnected.

"I, uh, haven't thought about it…" I said trailing off; I had nearly forgotten all about it. Mirajane herself stood patiently in front of me wearing her signature maroon colored dress, a stamp held in her right hand and a tray of glasses in the other.

"That's okay. There's no need to rush." She said politely.

I scratched the back of my head nervously trying to think quickly. There were many possible places I could put the mark: on my arm, my leg, or even my back to list a few. But I didn't know at all what I wanted to do. It was a permanent mark and I was beginning to freak out about where to have it.

"Having some trouble, newbie?" someone asked as a hand was slung across my shoulders. "Here's an idea: why don't you put it on your face? Hahaha!"

The first thing my nose picked on was the sharp scent that clung to the person: Alcohol. I turned my head curiously to see who it was beside me only to find myself staring at a flashy looking light blue bikini. In a heartbeat I averted my eyes and looked to the woman's face; I already knew who it was I was staring at. Cana Alberona was the one to speak, having left behind the massive barrel at the bar.

There was a challenging smirk on her face.

Shrugging my shoulders, I finally turned back to Mirajane.

"Well…why not?" I said earnestly, poking my left cheek. "Here should be good."

"Alright then! Hold still."

I was either going to regret this or think it was one of my best decisions ever. When Mirajane raised the stamp in her hand however, I suddenly found myself second guessing. But before I could open my mouth, let alone bat an eye, she brought the stamp down on my face with a light tap.

"Is that it?" I asked touching my fingers to my cheek. I was trying so hard not to freak out; I didn't remember seeing anyone at all walking around with a guild mark on their face from other guilds, not just magic ones.

And wait, was I supposed to specify a color?

What if I looked like a fool?

"Now you're officially a member of Fairy Tail! Do you want to see it?" Mirajane asked putting down the stamp and picking up a mirror in her hands.

Tentatively, I reached out to accept the mirror, afraid of what I would see. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I looked at my reflection though. Sitting just below my cheekbone was the Fairy Tail guild mark; it was a soft, creamy white on my skin. The mark wasn't a showy bright color and almost looked like it belonged there as if it were a birthmark.

"It's perfect!" I said with an infectious grin spreading across my lips. The only thing to interrupt my enthusiasm was a sharp laugh coming from the young woman beside me.

"Geez, I didn't think you'd actually do it." Cana said in amusement. She had let go of my shoulders and began downing a pint that seemed to randomly appear in her hands from out of nowhere. She was joking about it the whole time?

I suddenly felt warmth spread across my cheeks in embarrassment.

"Oh, I think it looks great!" Mirajane said reassuringly. "In case you didn't know, my name's Mirajane, but please, call me Mira. I—"

"Hey Mira, another round!" A guild member shouted.

"Coming right up!" She said pleasantly without missing a beat. "We can talk more later, but for now…" I watched as Mira ducked back behind the bar, pulling out various bottles. Not too far from her I noticed that Makarov had taken a seat on the counter and was taking in the guild's festive mood. Cana had drifted back over to the bar too, reclaiming her seat and pushing aside the barrel; it landed on the ground with a hollow thunk.

It was bone dry.

Not knowing what else to do, my feet automatically followed Cana back to her seat. In my head I was still stuck on what she had said to me, trying to find a good rebuttal; I wasn't about to make myself seem like a fool on the first day.

"It's not like I had any idea where to put it, actually." I finally mumbled back sheepishly as I slumped into the seat beside her. "Besides, I'm proud to be able to say I'm a part of this guild."

"You know? I can respect that. Name's Cana by the way. Mira, send me another!" She called over the counter.

"Mine's Finn." I replied as Mira slid two mugs in the brunette's direction. Smiling, I silently applauded myself for not acting socially awkward, a trait that I was all too familiar with. Talking to people, let alone recovering from a blunder like that was starting to seem like a common miracle in my eyes now.

It was making me wonder when that started to happen.

"So what's your story? I'm curious; it's not every day that you see a member of the ten wizard saints casually dropping by our hall." Cana said pointedly, taking up another pint in her hand.

"Well…" I said rubbing the back of my head uncertainly. "I was just a person passing through and speaking with an old friend. It kind of amounted to me joining the guild. Believe me when I say I had no clue I'd be joining Fairy Tail today. I mean, I actually meant to join it awhile back." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Makarov shift slightly.

He was probably listening.

"So it was just the luck of the draw?"

"Yeah, you could say that." I said lightheartedly.

I wasn't about to go parading around and saying that I was a time traveler or a dimension hopper. In my mind that wouldn't go down too well. And then there was also part of me that didn't want to talk about it at all; any of it. Not the part where I was a founding member of Fairy Tail and not the part that I was torn away from my home and that I had no place to go.

And it's not like they had any pictures around broadcasting the fact that I was a founding member. Warrod said the picture he gave me had been in his house, and from Makarov's evident shock earlier, I didn't think he had seen the picture much either.

Cameras couldn't have been that common in a place and time where traveling was mainly done by foot.

"What was stopping you from joining earlier?" Mira asked curiously, distracting me from my thoughts.

"Let's just say that a lot happened in the past few months, stuff that I couldn't change." I said softly. "But things can only get better from here, right?"

Right?

"Sure they can!" Cana chirped while she chugged down another pint.

Being thrown into another dimension, being thrown into the future; the only way things could go was up. It's not like there was anything else left to be taken. In one way my new situation was almost a step up from the last. I was in some place I at least recognized.

I froze for a moment.

I _was_ in a place I recognized.

"Hey, Master Makarov?" I asked, another pressing thought in my mind.

"Hmm?" The man said looking up from his own drink.

"You said that your grandson Laxus was the one to find me, yeah? Where is he right now? I'd like to thank him."

"You're the one that Laxus found in the cathedral?" Mira said almost shock. "Oh, you poor thing!" And thanks to Mira's voice, I could now feel eyes boring into my backside; being at the center of attention was not something I liked.

"Hey, I'm alive now, so everything is okay." I hastily quipped, trying to brush the fact aside.

"Hmph. I'm surprised he helped anyone in the first place. I heard it was by pure coincidence that he was there." Cana said with a snort.

That one sentence was very telling.

With how jumbled up things were in my mind, I almost didn't realize that I was in a position where I had knowledge that nobody else had. I wasn't in the obscure past any longer. Now the main concern had popped into my mind: where and when was I? I never paid much attention to what the guild hall looked like and which one was which since it had changed so many times, but I at least recognized the orange outfit and the crazy striped hat that Makarov wore. That and the fact that Cana said that he was there by coincidence told me that nothing bad had happened yet.

I had to have been thrown back sometime before the battle of Fairy Tail occurred.

Then again, what was the date?

"About Laxus," Makarov said finally speaking up, "He's out on an S-class quest right now. I'm afraid he won't be back for a while. My grandson tends to stay very busy."

"You sound…proud." I said sarcastically.

"Laxus isn't exactly pleasant to talk to." Cana offered. "Hell, I don't think he really bothers talking to any of us except for the Thunder God Tribe."

"Hey Cana! Just the lady we wanted to see." Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Macao and Wakaba standing behind us. Macao leaned against the bar with papers in his hands, a grin on his face. "Got a job here that you might be interested in. Wanna come?" Wakaba said puffing on the cigar in his mouth. Not waiting for either of the two men to say more, Cana snatched the paper out of Macao's hands.

"Don't you know it's rude to ignore a lady? Introduce yourselves already." Cana chided with her eyes glued onto the paper.

"Right, right… My name's Wakaba and this here is—"

"Macao Conbolt at your service little lady." Macao cut Wakaba off, reaching across Cana and grabbing my hand up in a shake. I flinched at the sudden contact, but the man didn't appear to notice.

Little lady?

Sure, I was shorter than Cana, but I wasn't that much smaller.

"So what magic can you do?" Wakaba asked after Macao let go of my hand.

"Light magic." I answered.

"Light eh? Don't see that many light users in our guild." Macao commented offhandedly.

"Master Makarov uses it." Wakaba suggested.

So Makarov could use light magic too. I could only specifically recall that he used giant magic, but knowing he was one of the ten wizard saints I was doubtless that he knew more. I made a mental note in my mind to ask him for advice; he could possibly help me develop my magic further.

"Alright, enough chatter," Cana said abruptly slamming the paper in her hands onto the bar, the bracelets around her wrists jangling. "You two want me to go with you guys to Crocus and work as a bar tender?"

Her eyes narrowed, but Macao and Wakaba simply looked on and smiled calmly.

"What do ya say?" Wakaba asked.

"Count me in of course!" She said excitedly springing out of her seat. There was a devious glint in her eyes and I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. "Well Finn, I'm off. See you around!" Grabbing the two by the arms, she bolted through the hall and out the door.

"Well that was sudden." I remarked. "And Cana as a bar tender? What kind of jobs does a magic guild even do?"

"There are a great many things we receive requests for. Sometimes it can be a request looking for temporary employees for minor jobs, but they can also be as dangerous as hunting down monsters or defeating members of a dark guild." Makarov stated wisely.

"So we just help people over all?" I asked sincerely.

"Well, yes, but it's not just about the work. It's also about the adventures you can go on, the experiences you'll gain. It doesn't hurt making money on the side either." He said mumbling the last part. "Why don't you go look at the board and see for yourself? The request board is right over there." Makarov pointed to my left. Turning, I could see the request board located on the wall towards the end of the bar. Nodding my head, I started to get up from my stool.

That was when I tripped over something and fell face first into the ground.

"What the hell?" I said in confusion. I heard some people snickering. Rolling over, I sat up, my hands felt what I tripped on. I looked down to see that I had tripped over a pile of clothing lying haphazardly on the ground. "Who's…?"

Picking up a shirt in my hands, I already knew the answer to that one. That was when I finally noticed Gray Fullbuster sitting at the opposite end of the bar…in his underwear. "Um, excuse me?" I said holding up the shirt in my hands. He turned to look at me with a casual expression on his face. "Are these yours?"

"Huh?!" he asked in shock before glancing down at himself. "Shit!"

I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but before I could say anything else I felt myself being scooped up into someone's arms. My body went rigid and I tried to figure out just who it was that had picked me up.

"That's not the way for a man to introduce himself to a woman. She ought to be treated better than this."

I looked up and felt an unamused scowl form on my face.

"So beautiful, how does dinner sound later on?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I said trying to flail my way out of his arms. Loke was the one who picked me up. "Hold the phone, I don't even—not interested." Pushing away, the orange haired man dropped me, but I quickly jumped back to my feet and straightened out my jacket. Ghosting my hand over my pocket, I silently panicked about the picture before reassuring myself it was fine. Turning back to Loke, I sighed and regained my composure.

"Look, I was just fine before. There was no need to butt in, let alone pick me up. And dinner? I don't even know you." I said with a single exhale.

Loke adjusted his glasses before shooting me a grin; I could have sworn there were small sparkles around his face when he did this. "Of course not." He said suddenly agreeing with me. "Although you must have heard of me before' the name's Loke." I blinked in realization before sending him a scrutinizing gaze. The Loke that stood in front of me wore a pair of shades around his eyes and a fur trim around the collar of his green jacket. What really sealed the deal was the fact that his orange hair was short and spikey; he wasn't in his celestial form.

The Loke in front of me was the outcast celestial spirit. Standing there quietly, I also finally realized something else; the magic radiating off of him was weak and hazy, almost like it was being siphoned off into an empty void. He was dying; Lucy hadn't saved him yet.

Then again…Where was Lucy?

"So you're not bothered at all by that?" Loke finally said as he pointed at Gray. Without hesitating I turned to look at the ice mage who was scrambling to put back on his clothing.

"Well, he was at least wearing his underwear so that's okay in my book." I said bluntly. I didn't understand why some people freaked out when Gray stripped down; it was understandable when it came to the underwear, but other than that it wasn't too bad. It also helped that Gray had some nice muscles...

If some of the guild members put up a fuss about Gray showing too much skin, what about Cana? She wore a bikini as a top, not that I would have said something. I just know that I wouldn't do that because comfy clothing was more of my preference, and my jacket was a prime example. It didn't draw too much attention to me which was just the way I liked it.

"You know, you're a little odd. Most normal women would freak out seeing something like that." Loke noted.

"Knowing me though, I think I'm perfectly normal; just involved in really strange situations. Exceedingly strange." I emphasized my point as I looked back and forth between the two mages.

"But I will say," Loke said suddenly becoming serious. "Your magic is…quite unique."

I furrowed my brows and looked at him wearily. He noticed something different about my magic? I was under the impression that my magic was pretty normal, but on the other hand it wasn't something I had in the first place. But I didn't even need to cast anything for him to say something. Was it really different? Abnormal in some way?

Raising a hand to his chin, Loke was silent in thought for a moment before he spoke again. "Hm, something about it does seem other worldly."

He knew something.

"You're one to talk," I balked before I could stop myself. "and on top of that it feels like you're wasting away."

Loke's eyes went wide underneath his shades and his face paled. The posture of his body tensed up on edge. I cringed when that happened; the change was instant. His eyes darted around as if to check if anyone heard, but I knew that I at least didn't speak loud enough for anyone other than Gray to hear; the ice mage was off in his own little world fumbling around with his clothing and behind him Mira and Makarov were in a deep discussion.

"H-how?" he stuttered out. The tone in his voice was odd, almost…fearful?

I flung up my hands.

"Wait a second, there's nothing you have to—" Loke barreled past me before I could finish, disappearing from sight as quickly as he appeared. I slammed my hand into my forehead, berating myself. The words had just slipped from my mouth; how could they not when his magic felt like an eyesore to me? And I had completely forgotten that nobody in Fairy Tail knew about his status as a celestial spirit.

Heck, I wondered if even Makarov knew. Leave it to me to spill something I should have been tight lipped about; the guy probably wouldn't look at me ever again. He'd probably start fleeing from me on sight like he did with every celestial mage. The sad thing was I actually kind of liked him as a character from the anime.

If only just a little.

"What's wrong with him?" Gray commented, his eyes focused on where Loke had been standing. Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he dismissed his own question and turned back towards the bar.

"I'm curious, what did you say to him that got him running?" A feminine voice asked behind me.

"Something I guess I shouldn't repeat." I answered guiltily. I turned around to see who it was that approached me this time: It was Levy McGarden, the shorter mage with even shorter blue hair and standing on either side of her were her teammates whose names I couldn't remember for the life of me.

"That's the first time I've ever seen Loke run from a girl like that." The one in the tall brown hat commented. The other in the white shirt laughed in response.

"You're…Levy, right?" I asked politely. "My name's Finn."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry!" Levy said apologetically. "I should have introduced myself from the start. Oh, and this is Jet and Droy!"

"Nah, that's fine. I've met so many people already that I feel like my head's ready to explode." I said jokingly. It wasn't really that so much as it was that it was hard for my mind to completely understand everything I was seeing. My mind was on overload and I wanted to crawl under a rock.

"It can be a little overwhelming at first." Levy agreed. "But give it some time and the guild will start to feel like home in no time!"

"I don't doubt that it will." I said with a smile.

"So where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I've ever seen you around Magnolia before. You actually look like a seasoned traveler." Levy said, her brown eyes sparkling with interest.

"Ha! I guess you could say that." I said holding back sarcasm from leaking into my voice. "It would take a while for me to even begin to tell you about it."

"Then why don't we sit down? We've got plenty of time on our hands if you do. Right, guys?" She said turning to her two companions.

* * *

…

"So in the end, what made you want to come to Magnolia?"

"It sort of happened." I said leaning on my hand against the table. "I was actually here a long time ago and I couldn't help but visit it again. A lot has changed."

I thought that talking to Levy was going to be nice and maybe even relaxed. It turned out that I only felt my mood worsening with every single question she asked—not that I made it plain though. I simply smiled and answered her, each word carrying a sarcasm that only I could detect. She got me to talk about home; my home; the one place I avoided thinking about for the longest time.

And I spun things around a bit, gave some unsuspecting vague details about it. I had told her that I was from further up north in Fiore, which wasn't entirely a lie; it was where I woke up when I first arrived here. When asked what town, I answered, but told her it wasn't on the map.

The whole ordeal felt like putting salt in an open wound, especially since I found myself giving more and more details, remembering it and what it was like.

"Am I bothering you with these questions?" Levy suddenly asked, snapping me out of my musings. "I didn't mean to bother you."

"Huh? No, it's not a bother. It's just…" I pursed my lips in thought. "It's been difficult getting adjusted to new surroundings."

"So you're home sick?"

"Yeah…"

"How about I make it up to you? Team Shadow Gear can show you around Magnolia!" She suggested enthusiastically. "There are a lot of great shops and restaurants—oh and there's a great library too. Do you like books?"

At the change of subject, I felt my mood lighten.

"Of course I do! But I, uh, haven't been able to read any recently. I'm up for suggestions though since I don't know what kind of books you have around here." I responded gleefully. It had been a while since I read a good book… And now that I thought of it, what kind of books did this world have?

"Our Levy here can give you tons of recommendations." Jet said proudly with a hand on her shoulder. "She's so smart!"

Levy beamed at the complement.

"So what do you say?" Levy asked.

"I'd love to—"

"—Hey can I talk to you? Alone?"

Closing my mouth, I turned my gaze to see none other than Loke standing by our table; he had decided to come back. His eyes met mine for a split second before flickering down towards the floor.

Well this was unexpected.

"What do you know, he came back." Droy said almost in awe.

"Um… Sure." I responded to him curtly. Standing up from the table I looked back at Levy and the others. "I guess I'll see you guys around then? Thanks for the welcome."

I looked at Levy and she nodded her head with a cheerful smile; I didn't miss the curious glance she sent in Loke's direction. "Feel free to come and talk any time you want—if we're not out on a job that is. And hey, keep in mind about the tour, okay?"

I only responded to Levy's offer with a close eyed grin as I waved goodbye.

Without hesitating, Loke had turned and was already walking; struggling a little, I caught up with him, my breath heavy. How I was moving around this much, I had no clue. Silently I concluded that it was the presence of magic that resulted in that; it was the only way I could explain how I was walking around right now.

Me, a recent coma patient.

Loke headed out what looked like the guild's back door with me close on his heels. We left behind the loud chatter of the guild and went outside, the orange gleam of the sun slowly dipping below the horizon, reflecting across the water. There was a calming silence out there; the wind was stilled and the birds quiet. The back of the guild was overall, quiet and peaceful.

Stopping at the water's edge, Loke stood with his back facing me. His discomfort was evident with the way his shoulders were hunched forward.

"There's something I need to say." He started off reluctantly.

The air became silent once more as he struggled to find the words to speak.

"Then don't say it." I finally said back to him.

"What?" Loke said turning to me with a look of shock on his face.

"It's clear you don't feel like talking about it, so you don't have to feel obligated to explain anything, let alone to a stranger like me. As they say some things are better left unsaid, yeah? Besides, I think I already have a good idea of what's troubling you."

"You really are strange." Loke remarked still in disbelief.

"Not strange, I've just been through a lot. I know you're like me; both of us aren't exactly from here and neither of us feels like talking about it. But on the other hand, there is one thing at least that's different…You're dying." Loke flinched at the truth of my words, casting his eyes out across the water and becoming distant once more.

"This is something I deserve." He said, the tone of his voice resigned. "I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone."

"And trust me, I won't." I said to him honestly. "But I will say one thing, if you ever actually do feel like talking I'll be willing to listen; a guild is supposed to be like family. That's one of the things my friend wanted when she found this guild after all."

Right, Mavis?

And Loke was rendered speechless.

"Hey. What happened to the flirty guy from earlier?" I asked waving my hand in his face.

"It wasn't flirting," he replied standing a little taller. "A beautiful woman such as yourself should be treated right, and that's all I do."

A bright grin stretched across his face; Loke had put back up his mask again. That was the only reason why he was acting the way he was, wasn't it? He was dying and he was trying to push that pain away and drown out his own thoughts through something else. But now that I had seen what was there, I could still tell there was pain behind his eyes.

"So, I'll ask again: how about we go get dinner?"

"—Loke darling, there you are! We should be going soon!" I heard a woman shout. Shaking my head with an amused smile, I looked and saw what I expected; there were two women standing by the guild's back door, waving at Loke. The expressions on their faces were ones of adoration. Loke did have girlfriends hanging around somewhere.

I knew it.

"Hmph. Maybe some other time, eh?" I said teasingly as the look on Loke's face looking bashful. That look only lasted for one second before it was replaced by a smug smirk.

"You know, I might just keep that in mind."

Not looking back, Loke walked over to the two women waiting for him, sending a wave over his shoulder.

"Keep your chin up Loke." I said quietly behind him.

Actually meeting him in person, Loke seemed like a nice guy. Knowing what he was going through, I was half tempted to tell him that things were going to be fine, but it wasn't my place to do that. Lucy would be the one to save him and I just had to make sure things didn't change much until then.

The smile faded from my face as I realized that. A lot would be at stake with my being here, but I wasn't going to let that stop me anymore. With any luck, maybe it would be possible for me to change some things and maybe even make some things better. My knowledge only extended so far, but what was the point of having it if I didn't use it?

I raked a hand through my short curly locks and released a heavy sigh. I needed time to recover from all of this. My mind was racing at over a hundred miles an hour and it was giving me a headache again thinking about it. I needed to take things as they came.

Anything different from that and I'd go crazy.

Shaking my head, I began to walk back towards the guild when a spot of white caught my eye; sitting a few steps away from the door was a round man in a white shirt, his attention focused on the easel in front of him with a paintbrush in hand.

I recognized him faintly.

Walking in his direction, I sat down on the grass beside him. He didn't say anything in response and instead continued to paint. A few seconds passed and the last bit of the sun disappeared, leaving the starry sky behind.

"It's not often that someone keeps me company while I paint." The man finally said putting the palate and the brush in his hands down.

"Sorry if I was bothering you."

"Not at all. I simply wanted to finish the painting before the sun went down." He reassured. "And like I said, it's not often that people take an interest in my painting."

"What were you painting? Was it the sunset?" I asked genuinely.

The man shifted, picking the picture up from the easel.

"It's hard to see right now, but—"

"I got you covered." I interrupted casting a small ball of light above us.

"Oh? Light magic I see." He noted. He then held up the picture in his hands and adjusted for me to see it. "A sudden inspiration hit me and I had to paint this."

The painting itself was of the sunset and the water, but off in the corner of the picture stood me and Loke talking. Loke had a smirk on his face and I had a soft smile on mine…My eyes looked so empty though.

"Sorry that we got in the way of your picture." I said embarrassed.

Was that really what I looked like?

"I often like having models for my art though. Scenery isn't my strong suit, but the subjects in it are."

"So you like painting people?" I asked, a sudden idea popping into my head.

"Yes, I do."

"Do you think it would be possible to paint a picture for me?" I said almost too quickly. "Uh, you know, if I described the people to you?"

The man shook his head sadly.

"Pardon, but I only do well when I have models to look at."

My shoulders sank.

"That's okay then. I knew it would be a shot in the dark."

What was it that I wanted him to paint? Well, I already had a picture of me with Mavis and the rest of the treasure hunters, but I was hoping that maybe I could get a picture of my family too; it had been so much longer since I had seen them, and I didn't want to end up forgetting their faces. The only reason I was truly afraid of the future was what it could take away, not what it would bring.

"But with your type of magic it may very well be possible to fix that problem, if you're willing to let me help that is." The man spoke up again.

"How so?" I asked him.

"You can create the models for me and I can teach you how. With my Pict Magic it shouldn't be too hard to explain the concept of it."

"Really?" I said lighting up. Perhaps it was possible then. "Thank you so much…er…"

"Reedus. Reedus Jonah." He finished. "Now, it's getting late. I suggest we head inside for now."

Getting up from the small chair, the easel in front of Reedus disappeared in a pop and he put the picture away in a small bag beside him. I too got up and dispelled my magic. "So can we start on this tomorrow?" I asked almost eagerly.

It was something that would help me relax and take my mind off of things.

"Oui."

* * *

…

And then the guild was quiet.

By the time I went back inside with Reedus, many of the guild members were already heading home for the night. I ended up talking with Levy for a while longer until she and her team decided upon leaving. It was after that when I sat at the bar and began to space out, watching the people slowly trickle out of the hall until I was one of the only ones left.

The time was probably around eleven o'clock and everything there was still; peaceful yet eerie at the same time.

Getting up from the bar, I walked around and looked at the guild hall itself. Unlike earlier, I found it easier to move around, unhindered by everything else that had been going on around me. I went by the request board and scoured almost every nook and cranny in the guild except for the the top floor. I recalled that there was some rule about only S-class mages being allowed up there, so I didn't bother. I even stuck my head into the basement for only a split second before deciding that it was in my best interest to not explore it at night.

In the end, I came around full circle and found myself standing in the middle of the hall again.

"So, what do you think?" Makarov asked as he walked up beside me. "It must be hard seeing all of this."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second.

"You know, I can't shake the thought from my head that maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and find that this was all just some dream; that nothing has changed and that Mavis and Yuri are still around. When I open my eyes however, I see this place before me, all of these people." Opening my eyes, I glanced at Makarov before turning my attention back to the guild hall. "I never thought I would see all of this in only a blink of an eye, and yet here it all is. This was Mavis's dream—it actually became our dream then too, didn't it?"

But I wasn't going to cry over it anymore.

"I know that Mavis became the first guild master and then Precht became the second. I also know that Warrod's become one of the ten wizard saints, but as for Yuri…"

"I never really got to know my father much." Makarov said wistfully. "He died when I was young."

I balled up my fist. I didn't know for certain what had actually happened, but deep down I knew it all along.

"D-do you want to know about him?" I asked trying to stay calm. "He was…man, I don't know where to start. He was a persistent guy; he never gave up on things and was quite competitive. At times he would be rather obnoxious and easily embarrassed and other times he was thoughtful and fun to be around. I mean, he tried to trick Mavis with one of the games he played, but you should have seen the look on his face when he realized he lost."

Talking about Yuri, I found a faint smile pulling across my face; I didn't feel so sad anymore.

"I'll miss him a lot—both him and Mavis." I said changing the subject slightly. "I know that neither of them are still around, I just had this feeling when I got here. But…there is one thing that I want to know: where is Precht?"

At my question, Makarov had a contemplative look on his face.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question. He left the guild almost fifty years ago, not before naming me the third master of Fairy Tail. I'm sorry."

"I figured as much. Precht must have had his reasons for leaving." I said pensively. But what those reasons where, I didn't really know. I scowled slightly just thinking about it; I was forgetting something really important, but what was it?

"Anyways…pushing all of that aside, I guess I need to pull myself together, huh?"

"That's a fine plan, but keep in mind that there is never a need to rush anything; you need time just as much as everyone else to recover from such a loss." Makarov hesitated for a moment before continuing. "If I may ask, what is it that you plan to do about your status as a founder? I've noticed you've kept quiet about it so far."

"Right…this is all a weird little conundrum, isn't it?" I hummed in thought. "I think that my best option is to keep quiet about it for now really—at least long enough for me to get to know everyone. I just… I don't want them to have any false impressions about who I really am." I said wisely. More important than false impressions, I was worried that I wouldn't meet up to anyone's expectations as a founder; I was weak and I didn't want them to see that.

I needed to be stronger.

Makarov nodded his head in response to my decision. "That shouldn't be a problem then. Not much information is kept in plain sight about the founding of Fairy Tail; much of it remains stored away under the cover of dust."

"Thanks…"

"I have one final question: What are your current plans for the time being? Do you already have some place to stay?" He asked.

My face went blank at his question.

"Um, well…" I said rubbing the back of my head. "I was thinking maybe I'd just stay here?"

That was another thing I hadn't thought of at all today. I needed a place to live, a place that would become my base of operations aside from the guild. And then of course after that I would have to figure out how to pay rent—no, I'd have to figure out how Jewels worked too; the three treasure hunters managed all of the money before so I didn't know much about it.

Wait, I didn't even have any money at all to begin with.

"You don't sound so certain about that."

"I'm not." I deadpanned.

"Excuse me Master, I couldn't help but overhear. You need a place to stay, right?"

I spun around to see Mira standing behind us. I had nearly forgotten that she was one of the ones still here. Her brother Elfman had been carrying up barrels and crates from the basement while she was restocking the bar for the night. She had overheard our conversation, and then I began to wonder how much of it she did overhear.

I was pretty sure our conversation had been mostly quiet.

"Yeah, I guess. But I should be fine; I'll find something eventually." I answered sheepishly.

"Then you can stay with my brother and I. We have an extra room at our place."

"Huh? No it's fine, really!" I started to respond. "I don't want to—"

A barrel slammed down onto the ground next to me.

"A real man wouldn't leave a lady with nowhere to go!" Elfman proclaimed making his presence known.

"And like I said, we have an extra room. Both of us wouldn't mind at all." Mira added kindly. I quickly shot Makarov a glance before looking back at Mira and Elfman. I could tell that neither of them would accept my no as an answer.

"T-thank you so much!" I stuttered out in response. "I promise I won't hang around for too long though. I'll find a place of my own to stay as soon as I can!"

"Great. Hey brother, are we ready to go?" Mira asked turning to him.

"As soon as I put this away." Elfman responded picking the barrel back up and taking it over to the bar.

"Well, I suppose that's taken care of now." Makarov said cheerfully. "See you in the morning." I watched as the short guild master turned heel and disappeared into the back office from earlier. Sighing, I noticed that my first day at Fairy Tail was officially coming to an end; I was exhausted.

"Hey, uh, Mira?" I turned back to her in realization. "How much…did you overhear earlier?"

"It's okay, there's nothing to worry about because I didn't hear a thing." She said tilting her head and smiling. "But I will say this: don't be surprised if you get challenged to a fight. You'll come to find that there are certain people in our guild who like testing themselves against new faces."

"Huh?" I asked in confusion.

And then it hit me: she was probably talking about Natsu.

Along with where I was, I almost forgot about him too; the fire dragon slayer and one of the main protagonists of Fairy Tail. Things were going to be so different from here on out, I was beginning to get the feeling. And before then, I would be ready for it.

"You'll see, but when that time comes please try not to destroy the furniture if you can handle it." Mira said with a laugh, bringing me back to focus.

"Yeah, I'll try my best not to then." I said grinning tiredly. "And hey, you wouldn't happen to have the date, would you?"

And by the end of the day, I finally found out what the date was.

"It's May first, X784."

* * *

...

Author's Note: And there you have it, Finn's introduction to Fairy Tail. She's introduced to a lot of people and decides about what to do with her founder status. I remember it mentioned somewhere in the anime (or maybe it was the manga) that Laxus didn't even know about Yuri being a founding member of Fairy Tail and then Natsu and the rest were pretty shocked when they found out about Warrod in the sun village arc. I can only assume that few people in the present actually know about Fairy Tail's history. And Makarov hasn't brought up the Lumen Histoire to Finn either...Wonder why?

All I can say though is that things are going to be rather interesting in the future. How would Finn meet Natsu? or how about Erza? And Cana as a bar tender...that doesn't seem like it would end well. Have any questions or comments? Feel free to leave me a review!

Thanks to all my readers and to those who are following/ have favorited this story and thanks to **Shadowjab17** for your help!

Until next time,

BlueCampanula


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: The First Job**

* * *

...

"I think now is a good stopping point, oui?"

"Y-yeah…sounds…great." I said trying to catch my breath.  
Wiping my hands on my black cargo pants, I slowly stood up tall once more and stretched out my arms. Training to develop a new spell was more than taxing on both the mind and body; compared to when I was taught magic the first time, this seemed a little harder. It was probably because I was learning to shape my magic a little differently, and thanks to Reedus it was working.

The past week went by faster than I could have imagined. During that time, I found myself staying at the Strauss' residence with Mirajane and Elfman. It was a moderate sized apartment not located too far from the guild in a brick faced building that rose about three stories high. The room they gave me to stay in had been Lisanna's. It wasn't hard to tell from the pictures on the dresser or the girly décor. It was definitely a girl's room, therefore it had to be hers.

When I realized that I had almost felt bad right away. They were allowing me to use their younger sister's old room, a sister that had supposedly died. How they felt about it, I didn't know, but that single action alone showed me just how selfless both Mira and Elfman were. Unlike me, they were unaware that Lisanna was still alive and it was that knowledge alone that made me feel a little better about intruding in the room.

But I still found myself sleeping on the floor of the room. It might have been because I did feel bad about it or maybe it was the fact that the bed felt too soft and cushy; something that I wasn't used to after sleeping on a bedroll for a month or two. And each morning that I woke up I made sure to keep the room looking like it was untouched, folding up and stacking the blankets I was using. After the first two days, going to the guild hall early in the morning started to sink into a part of a new routine.

Reedus would be waiting for me each time and then we'd decided to do the training out back and away from the noise of the guild.

At the hall, I had yet to run into Natsu, Erza, or even Lucy for that matter; the first two were likely to be out on a job, while I had no idea about the last one. Unlike Lucy, I managed to overhear some people chatting about Natsu, while Mira even spoke to me about Erza, mentioning a few of the other S-class mages as well. I wasn't entirely sure when Lucy was supposed to arrive, but I could wait. It meant that I had plenty of time to play catch up on magic.

And I was doing a pretty decent job of it.

"I'm surprised at how fast you've caught on." Reedus said inspecting the clone beside me. Holding up a thumb and closing an eye, he glanced between me and the illusion I created. "C'est incredible. The only flaw I can find is…well, see for yourself."

The man pointed down at the ground behind the clone. Glancing down, I saw what it was he was pointing at; it had no shadow.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." I concluded. "It is a form of light magic, so casting a shadow is probably out of my reach."

Bending around the light had been rather difficult at first; the amount of concentration it took and getting it to look real. Reedus had described to me how to shape the magic and even critiqued me on my illusion's appearance. Somehow I was getting a handle on it, and it was Levy who finally suggested to me to read about the properties of light.

That's right.

She ended bringing me three books all about light—science books practically. And at first I didn't see how it would help until I realized something. Having a better understanding of what I was dealing with made it that much easier to manipulate. Then after doing a bit of reading on light refraction and the mirage phenomena and I was well on my way to something great.

But getting the appearance of my illusions right was where I was falling short. Rather than creating random people, Reedus had me create specific people in order to get down, as he put it, 'the finer details.'

"At this rate you should be able to utilize this spell without much trouble at all. I'm curious, you seem rather tired, non? How hard have you been working on this?"

"I may or may not have stayed up into the early hours of the morning." I admitted with a yawn. I practically drowned myself in the books Levy gave me that I nearly forgot to sleep. It wasn't my best decision, but I couldn't help but get drawn into it. Maybe if I could learn to manipulate the light around me then I could create a camouflage of sorts? I couldn't help but think about all of the other possibilities my magic held.

"Then I think its best we stopped for the day."

"Wait, I thought you meant to take a break. I can keep going—I'm not tired at all." I said in protest. With my outburst, the illusion disappeared with a disgruntled pop.

"Ah, but you will be. Sometimes the most improvement can come from rest, something that is too often overlooked." Reedus replied astutely. "I've created better pieces that way too."

"Yeah, okay then. I'll take your advice, after all it has gotten me this far." Sighing, I smiled at the man. "Thanks a lot for your help."

"Always a pleasure. It is refreshing for a new take on things; I haven't mentored anyone for quite some time. And if you're restless, why not find a mission?"

I nodded my head thoughtfully.

The two of us walked back into the guild. Entering through the back door, we went our separate ways and I found myself walking over to the request board. Mira was behind the bar as usual and shot me a smile. Stopping in front of it, my eyes scanned over the many flyers pinned against the board.

So far I had taken a grand total of…zero missions.

It wasn't that I hadn't looked before, but mainly because I was still trying to settle in and wrap my thoughts around everything. And in part it was also because I didn't have the slightest clue of how to travel to the places the jobs listed; I knew where Hargeon was, sure, but I wasn't too keen on how to get there. The capital city Crocus? Era?

None of the above.

And then I wasn't sure how to gauge myself ability wise. So far I had seen requests to take down some bandits, to retrieve items, and even to fight monsters, but which of those was I capable of doing and which were out of my league? I began to think that maybe the bandits would be easier; Blue Skull had consisted of really incompetent mages, so the bandits couldn't be bad.

But then I was going to be doing the job on my own and Yuri and Precht weren't going to be around this time to pull me out of trouble or back me up.

"Why not pick this one?" Mira said interrupting my thoughts.

"Huh?" I said. She had walked up beside me without me even realizing it. Outstretched towards me in her hand was a simple flyer. My eyes narrowed a little as I tried to read the tiny print, leaning closer to read it. "A…modeling job?"

I thought for a second.

"Really?" I asked wryly. "I don't exactly think I'm cut out for that. Where did you find it? I don't remember seeing it on the board."

I was trying to be polite about it. No offense to Mira, but out of all the jobs she could have suggested it had to be modeling? I found myself wanting something more exciting, one in which my magic was going to be of use. In the future to come it was no question that I was going to need all the fighting experience I could get; I wasn't even in my world long enough to see the end of Fairy Tail and I hadn't a clue about what was to come.

But then again, Mira couldn't fight yet, could she?

"Actually, I received this yesterday." Mira commented. "It's a request for two people and I thought you might be interested. It would be a great way for you to get out and see some of Fiore without getting lost—"

"So you know about that…?" I mumbled.

"—and it's in Era which is a really lovely town. That's where the Magic Council is." Mira finished sweetly.

"Era?!" I said snapping to attention. Even if it had barely been a week, going to Era meant that I could run into Warrod again. And I didn't mind that at all. Reaching out, I took the paper from her hand and looked more closely at it. "And it's worth…300,000 Jewels?"

My jaw dropped.

"Is that a lot?" I asked in disbelief. "All this for a modeling job?"

Mira chuckled at my reaction.

"So what do you say?"

"I, uh, sure I guess."

The white haired woman smiled before turning back over towards the bar. Makarov was sitting in his usual place with his staff sitting across his lap. "Master, Finn and I will be heading out now!" She said cheerfully. In response, the old man hopped off of the bar and began walking towards us.

"You're going to Era, right? Safe travels then." He said turning towards me. "And try not to break anything."

"Eh?" I said with an eyebrow raised. And then I remembered: Fairy Tail mages had a habit of destroying things while out on a job. "Oh, never mind. I gotcha." I said waving his comment aside.

"Let's go, shall we?" Mira said beckoning to me. "The train leaves in about an hour. Did you need to pack anything?" We started walking through the hall and towards the main entrance. People were shouting their goodbyes as we passed.

"I don't exactly have anything to take really." I said as I walked beside her.

"Then maybe we'll have to fix that when we get to Era."

"Era you say? Mind if I join you ladies?" a familiar voice cut in. Loke was strolling towards us with a smug flirtatious grin on his face. Stopping beside us, he continued. "It just so happens that I have business out there too."

"Of course! I don't have any problems with it if you don't, Finn." Mira said glancing at me. In turn I looked at Loke and he sent me a teasing wink. Rolling my eyes at his antics, I smirked.

"Not at all."

* * *

…

Riding in a train again was weird.

Sitting at the edge of the seat, I tapped my feet against the floor in excitement as my eyes were glued on the window. Outside trees passed by quickly and I could see a few animals dotted among the green fields, ones that I didn't recognize. Mira sat to my left and Loke was sitting back in the seat across from me, watching me with an amused expression.

"So how much longer till we get there?" I asked curiously.

"Not much." Mira responded.

"Yes!" I said triumphantly. The two wizards looked at me.

"What?"

"Have you never traveled anywhere before?" Loke finally asked.

"Well…yeah, of course I have. Not here at least." I admitted. "I'm just glad that we didn't have to walk. One of the most tedious things I ever had to do was walk from the Woodsea all the way to Hargeon; that took forever, but I suppose it was fun. We got to camp and explore the areas we stayed in."

Mira laughed softly.

"I have a feeling that you'd like to travel with Natsu and Happy then."

"Natsu and Happy? They're in the guild, right? I think I remember hearing their names somewhere." I said feigning ignorance.

"Yeah, they're in our guild all right." Loke agreed. "And knowing Natsu, he'll probably charge right at you headfirst; he usually does that with the new guild members."

I sweatdropped.

"So that's who you meant, Mira…" I never thought that he would challenge a girl to a fight, aside from maybe Erza at some point. Natsu never did challenge Lucy when he met her, but maybe it was because he had already seen her fight. That meant sooner or later I would be running into him and when that time came—

"If you don't want to fight, then I'll make sure he backs off." Loke cut in.

I glanced up at him and smiled.

"—Cause how can I leave a beautiful girl such as yourself defenseless?"

"And you lost me, pal." I said crossing my arms. "I'm not that defenseless!"

"Finn look. We're here!" Mira said changing the subject before I could say any more. Without having to be told twice, I turned my focus to the window once more. Approaching fast in the distance was a town sure enough, but dominating the center of it was what looked like a single giant mountain with a tall building sitting at its peak.

"Is that the council building?" I asked pointing to it.

Mira nodded her head.

"Can we go there first?"

"I don't see why not. It just so happens that we do have about three hours to spare before we have to be at the studio." Mira responded.

"You two ladies have fun trying to get in. I've got my own matters to attend to for now, unless you need an escort?"

"Nah, I think we'll pass." I answered speaking for both of us. "What is it that you have to do anyways?"

"Maybe we'll run into each other later and you'll find out, but until then…" He stood up and adjusted his coat. "See ya."

"We should be going too, Finn."

What?

Realization dawned on my face when I finally noticed that the train had stopped; we were already at the station and people were filing out of the cart we were in, grabbing their bags and stepping out onto the platform. "Yeah, let's go!" I said jumping out of my seat and rushing ahead. Loke had already disappeared from sight in the crowded station, but Mira stuck close behind me as I strode out into the town's streets.

My first impression of Era was that it felt a lot smaller than Magnolia.

There weren't any canals traveling along the stone paved streets and everything felt more spread out and less compressed. In Magnolia, all of the buildings were tucked neatly together while here the buildings were laid out to border the unusual mountain at the center of the town. But just like Magnolia had all of its streets leading to Kardia Cathedral, Era's led to the Magic Council building.

It was amazing.

Turning around the corner, I spotted a group of people marching with brightly colored uniforms. Stopping in my tracks, I studied their appearance; there were two of them wearing a getup that I could only describe as a priest's robes, a cerulean blue color with dark sleeves, and one held a long metal pole that was topped by a crystal sphere and wore an oddly shaped hat on his head.

I was almost caught off guard by the unusual men, but then I remembered something important: they were supposed to be the council's military of sorts. Thinking hard, I tried to recall what they were named.

It wasn't coming to mind.

"They're called Rune Knights if that's what you're wondering." Mira said noticing my stare. "There are several divisions of them scattered all over Fiore and they are in charge of enforcing the peace dictated by the magic council."

"Oh! So that's what they're called." Now I remembered.

"They also protect the Magic Council's headquarters."

"Wait, you don't think that they'll stop us from visiting Warrod, do you?" I asked. The more I thought about it though, the Magic Council never really was fond of Fairy Tail. I was coming from a guild that caused them quite a bit of trouble and was beginning to wonder if the Rune Knights would take kindly to my visiting.

That was going to be interesting, no doubt.

"Well, it shouldn't be much of a problem." Mira said.

"Right…"

They got closer and I could see their faces better. My eyes automatically focused on the one who wasn't wearing the odd hat on his head. The one thing that I zeroed in on was the fact that he had several scars that were all very close to his emerald green eyes.

And as soon as I noticed those eyes staring back at me, I quickly looked away and acted as if I was casually looking around.

He seemed familiar.

Passing by them, Mira and I made our way through one of the main streets at a more even pace. My eyes were still roaming around and taking in the new sights the town offered. In a matter of a few minutes I could see a tall white wall that was encircling the base of the council's territory. The mountain itself was carved with several paths leading all the way to the top.

And sure enough, there was a pair of knights stationed on either side of the entrance we were approaching.

"State your business." One said firmly as we got closer.

I looked over to Mira and she waited for me to say something first. Awkwardly stepping forward, I started speaking. "Hi, um, I'm looking to meet with Warrod Sequen. He mentioned to me that he worked with the council, so I was hoping to find him here." Warrod never did specifically mention where it was that he lived; he just mentioned somewhere around Era.

But he was in the council, wasn't he?

"One of the ten wizard saints? This is the Magic Council, so you've come to the wrong place. Now move along."

What?

"So you're not going to let us through?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?" The knight said almost challengingly.

"Is something wrong?" A feminine voice interrupted.

"Ah, nothing, ma'am. Just keeping out a troublesome mage."

"Troublesome?" I scoffed. "I just asked if Warrod Sequen was around. Is that really a crime?"

"Warrod Sequen?" the lady questioned, finally stepping into sight. My eyes nearly widened when I saw who it was the voice belonged to: it was Ultear. I had almost forgotten about her; she was in the magic council along with…Jellal.

"Normally he would stop by once a week to petition for preservation plans, but I'm afraid he isn't here today. In fact, I do believe he is out traveling to a desert right now. Now if you don't mind, I have a council meeting to attend to."

"Wait. So…Warrod isn't in the Magic Council?" I asked in confusion.

Ultear raised an eyebrow.

"He may be a member of the ten wizard saints, but no he is not on the council." I felt the blood drain from my face in embarrassment. Warrod wasn't in the Magic Council? All of a sudden I felt very, _extremely_ stupid. Of course he wasn't in the Magic Council, but why the heck was I thinking that? Did it happen later? Quickly, I started searching my mind for an excuse to cover up my mistake.

"Uh, sorry." I said nervously. "I'm still getting used to how Fiore's council system works."

"You're not from around here? But you are a member of Fairy Tail." Ultear said, turning back around to fully face me. "So why is it that you are looking for one of the wizard saints?"

"Warrod's an old friend of mine actually and I was hoping to run into him…I guess not though, hehe…"

"We were just passing through." Mira said stepping up to my defense. "Sorry for troubling you." Gently grabbing my arm, Mira guided me away from the gates.

I could still feel a pair of eyes on my back.

As soon as we rounded the corner out of sight, Mira let go of my arm and I sighed heavily. "I was wondering why you were so particular on going to see the Magic Council, but now I know." Mira said happily. "I'm sorry if you got confused between the wizard saints and the council."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" I pouted. "I feel so dumb right now."

"Actually, emissaries from other countries get it mixed up all the time, so no worries."

"Really?" I said perking up a little. "Thanks Mira. And I guess I wouldn't have found him anyhow. He's off visiting a desert? I guess that makes sense for him with his green magic and all." I reasoned. I suppose that I couldn't expect him to remain in one place, even if he was retired from the guild. Maybe it was for the best though that he wasn't here…

On the other hand my mistake actually led me to meeting Ultear, something that was a little amusing to me. I knew who she was, but she probably only saw me as a newbie member of Fairy Tail.

Great first impression indeed.

* * *

…

"Okay so now what would work for you little missy? Hm…Short curly brown hair, eyes the color of storm clouds, more of a tanned complexion…Yes I think I have just the thing!" The man said chuckling to himself gleefully as he disappeared into the back room. This guy was kind of weird, I wasn't going to lie. Not to mention something felt off about the entire place, but maybe that was paranoia speaking.

"Miraaaa," I whispered harshly. "I thought this was a modeling job, not a photo-shoot."

"Hm? Oh, I thought you knew that. Don't worry though; these can be a lot of fun. There's food and lots of dresses to try on; it's no pressure at all!"

"Not when you take horrible pictures like I do, but okay. I'll bite."

The studio that requested the job was actually a high-end boutique located on the opposite side of the town closer to the edge of the woods. Walking in we were greeted by a flamboyant man who wore a striking red suit with a funky yellow ascot tied around his neck. It didn't help that his hair was teal either. Give or take a few years, my guess was that the guy was in his thirties.

"And here we are! One for you and one for the lovely Mirajane Strauss!" The man said reemerging from the room. He held several hangers and boxes in his hands, shoving them towards us. "The changing room is back that way. Please let me know when you ladies are ready!" He sent a wink at us and then walked back into the main part of the shop. I shuddered in response.

"Shall we?" Mira suggested.

Both of us walked into the single dressing room at the back of the store. The room itself was rather spacious and well lit with several benches. I walked over to one and examined the dress I was handed. It was made of a soft gray material and had a slanted hem.

Putting it on, the dress was loose fitting and comfortable. The only thing I failed to notice was that it had a single sleeve; I spent about two minutes trying to find the other sleeve before realizing it. Glancing in the mirror, I examined the dress more carefully. The only way I could really describe it was that it looked like a modified version of an ancient greek dress.

Folding my other clothes into a neat pile, I carefully placed them in the corner of the bench. My dagger however remained in my hands; the missing weight on my waste felt oddly uncomfortable. Shrugging my shoulders, I refastened it to the dress's tiny gray belt.

The dress did match with my eyes though.

"Finn, could you zip this up for me?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," I said pulling out the black sandals from the box and sliding them on. Turning around, I made my way over to Mira who was wearing a more formal dress that was a sparkling blue. Zipping up the dress I realized that it hugged her curves much more fittingly than my dress did.

"Thank you. Isn't this a lot of fun?" Mira said looking at me in the mirror. "You look so pretty! Here, let me help you with the back too. Turn around." Without waiting for me to respond, she circled around behind me and moved to zip up the back.

"Oh my…" She mumbled in concern.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" I asked turning my head over my shoulder slightly.

"No, no. It's just…"

"You can say it. Promise I won't mind." I finally said.

"Where did you get these scars from?"

"Scars?" I said thinking for a second. Angling my back towards the large wall mirror I caught sight of the pale white scratches that dotted across my shoulder and streaked a little onto my neck. A split moment later, I remembered just what had caused them. "Oh, those are actually kind of recent…Well, to me anyways. I got them saving a friend."

This was my first time seeing them since it happened.

"Wow, that's incredible." Mira said in awe.

"Hey, you'd do the same if one of your friends was in danger, wouldn't you?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I found myself regretting them. They sounded so insensitive, especially with what happened to Lisanna. Mira practically watched her disappear before her very eyes and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Yes, I would." Mira's cheerful expression wavered a little.

"Mira, I'm so—"

"No, it's fine. You've lost people too, after all." She said with a light-hearted smile. "You know, I never did get to do this with my younger sister. She loved doing things like this all the time aside from playing house."

"I wonder what Mavis would have thought," I said wistfully.

I had the feeling that she would have liked it.

There was a knock on the door.

"Are you ladies ready yet?" The man's muffled voice came through the door.

"Yes, we'll be right out!" Mira called back pleasantly.

"I guess we shouldn't keep him waiting much longer then." I said heading back over to the door.

I opened the door, letting Mira go first and then trailed behind her.

"Oh! Simply marvelous!" The man cried as we walked in the room. His eyes were mostly on Mira though. "Mira darling, shall we get started with you? I can't tell you how long I've waited for this moment. This will bring so much publicity for my new clothing line for all mages!" He said dreamily.

Turning away, he began rambling to an assistant. "And we've got this young man Jason coming too to take photos! Just a few more minutes and everything will be perfect!"

As Mira stepped forward, my hand shot out and stopped her from moving; something felt off to me. I cautiously looked around the studio looking for any sign that I was right, my free hand twitching in anticipation; the room felt a lot darker than usual. There was something strange, but I couldn't pinpoint it. "Finn? Is everything alright?" Mira asked looking at me in concern.

"This might sound crazy, but…" my brow furrowed. "There's somebody here that we can't trust."

I blinked in realization when I figured out what it was. What I was feeling it was definitely an agitation of ethernano, however faint. It was similar to what I felt with my teacher's magic and yet different. It was very dark, but there was more underneath that. Even if my sense for it was dull, I could still feel the ethernano's constant presence.

It was even seeping in through the white walls of the studio.

"Do you really think so?" Mira said casting a glance around the room. "How can you—"

Her voice seemed to blend into the background as my eyes caught sight of a flash of white color. My breathing hitched as I zeroed in on the white color; outside the window, up on the opposing roof top, and nearly out of sight was a mask—a masked man.

Almost in a trance I stood still and stared at the unmoving statue of a man. It was a tall figure cloaked completely in black revealing only a porcelain white mask. The mask itself was plain in appearance, but was an unusual shape; it had no facial features at all with the chin of the mask jutting outwards. I couldn't see the man's eyes, but I just knew that he was observing _us_.

Seeing the man move his arm from underneath the cloak, I paled.

"Finn?" Mira asked again, trying to follow my line of sight.

"Move!" I shouted suddenly, shoving Mira as hard as I could.

And it wasn't a moment too soon.

As soon as Mira was out of the way, I hesitated for a moment; there was no shattering of glass and the entire shop had gone silent. But in the spot where Mira had just been standing, there was a swirling black mass. "What kind of magic is that?" Mira asked as she stared at it in shock. It was the shouting from the studio owner that snapped me back to attention.

Tearing my gaze away from the magic, I glanced back out the window before running for the door. "Mira, go find backup!" I shouted over my shoulder without thinking. Slamming the door open, my eyes darted around trying to find the masked man; he had disappeared from the rooftop completely.

Clenching my fist, I closed my eyes and focused, trying to reach out and find the magic. Opening my eyes back up, I darted right and went down the narrow side street; that was where I could feel it coming from. I kept my gaze upward towards the rooftop looking for any physical trace of the man, shoving past people and shouting apologies in my wake.

Who in the world was this guy?

I was straight up mad that someone had the nerve to attack us like that. One thing was for certain: I wasn't going to let him get away, not without payback. It was a dirty surprise attack with no warning and it reminded me strongly of what happened back in Magnolia with Blue Skull.

The buildings were thinning out fast and soon, I could see the road narrowing out into a path leading outside of the town towards the woods. Slowing to a stop, my eyes remained locked forward; standing by one of the last buildings and blocking my way was none other than the masked man.

"Alright, start talking. Who are you?" I demanded.

The cloaked figure stood still and didn't respond to my question. I frowned; there was a gut feeling telling me that there was something horribly wrong with whoever this guy was. I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it. The magic that he had—the ethernano surrounding him was weird.

In the blink of an eye, the man disappeared from my sights; he was fast.

"Oh great…" I said dryly. "So that's how it's gonna be."

A cat and mouse game.

But the question was who was the cat and who was the mouse?

I had no clue who I was up against nor what his magic was like. I started second guessing myself; perhaps it wasn't my brightest idea rushing after him head first like that, but what else was I supposed to do? How should I have reacted? And it wasn't like I could bring Mira along with me—not when she wasn't able to fight.

I jumped in surprise as the white mask reappeared, hurling another dark mass from the palm of his hands. Bracing myself, I retaliated against the spell and shot out a ray of my own magic.

"Flare!"

The two spells collided and a burst of wind ripped through the air sending me a few feet backwards. Not waiting for the man to make his next move, I bolted towards where he stood, executing my next attack.

"Solar strike!" I shouted as I came down on top of him with power surging to my fingertips. But right as I was about to land the blow, I watched slowly as he easily retreated back from my hand. Instead of hitting my intended target, my fist slammed into the ground and obliterated the stone paved street beneath it.

A cloud of dust covered the air and I tried waving it away, shielding my face. I staggered back slightly and waited for the dust to settle; when it did however, I was surprised at how much damage I had caused. There was a decent sized crater in the middle of the narrow street, one that almost spanned its entire width with cracks extending well past its borders.

I blinked my eyes owlishly.

"Well…oops."

It was like the magic exploded from my hand; I wasn't aiming to cause that much damage either.

A slow clapping grabbed my attention.

Across from me the masked man was standing in an almost smug manner; he was mocking me. Shifting his stance, the man held out both of his hands this time and I readied myself. Sputtering into existence, several more of the black orbs appeared. I hesitated for a moment in thought; if he was to let go of them all at the same time, I knew there was no way I could block them all.

I flinched as he flung his hand forward, commanding the spell.

But before anything else could happen, the area around me suddenly shifted and I found myself staring down at the street I was standing in.

Now I was utterly confused.

How did I end up on the roof?

"The area has been cleared." A voice cut through my confusion. "Move in and take out the target."

My eyes drew towards the voice and I saw someone familiar standing on the flat rooftop beside me. It was the young man I had seen earlier, the Rune Knight with the scars on his face. Hearing another burst down below, I turned my attention back down towards the street. Rushing in from different directions, I realized that the masked man was surrounded by knights; they were fighting against the dark spheres and dispelling them with the rods in their hands.

I asked for back up and there it was.

The Rune Knights were carefully inching their way towards the man and I began to think that this was the end of it; he was already caught with nowhere to run. But as if to respond to my unspoken thoughts, the masked man looked up at where I stood. That was when I knew something else was going to happen and the person standing beside me didn't miss the look either; his green eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The man disappeared again, but this time in a flash of black. In his place a black form remained and I watched as the Rune Knights below began shouting out in surprise. I nearly gawked when the rods were sent reeling from their hands and into the gaping maw that was the black hole in the center of the streets; an unseen force coming from it was beginning to suck in everything that was around it, pulling up the stones from the street and dragging the knights towards it too.

"Damn it. The man beside me muttered under his breath. Turning to me, he grabbed my shoulder. "Stay out of the way." Descending from the roof, I watched as he began dragging his men out of harm's way, frantically teleporting them outside of the spell's radius. Scanning the area, I searched for a sign that the man was still around.

Leaning over the edge of the roof, I squinted my eyes. Finally I found who I was looking for; the masked man had moved over by the woods. His back was turned to me and he was walking away into the cover of the trees. Glancing back at the knights, I realized that they were too preoccupied to notice that he was getting away.

Ignoring my own judgment, I ran over to the far side of the roof and slowly lowered myself over the ledge; a little fall like that wasn't going to be enough to hurt me. Letting go, I dropped to the ground with a thud, I quickly turned away from the building and ran after where the figure disappeared.

Entering the woods, I shivered slightly with the cooler temperature; the thin gray dress I was wearing wasn't helping at all. Above me the trees blocked out the warmth of the sun and I felt a sense of unwelcome all around me. Compared to the woods outside of Magnolia, this was a much darker place. Ever so carefully, I ventured down the small dirt path.

The space in between the trees widened out to reveal a clearing. Ducking behind one of the trees, I cautiously shot out a glance. In the middle of the clearing the man was passing through with his back still facing me. I wasn't one for cheap moves, but if an opportunity like this was presenting itself I was going to take it.

As quietly as possible, I darted out from behind the tree and quickly closed in on my enemy. Raising my hand, I gathered my magic and prepared my attack. Aiming for his head, I thought that it would be enough to knock him out. That way I would be able to get some answers from this guy, after all the Rune Knights of the council were after him.

Right as I was about to strike, however, the man suddenly turned around, reaching out his hand.

I froze up in shock when his hand made contact with mine.

Rather than retaliate with his own attack, the man ensnared my wrist in his hand with a death grip, just stopping my fist a few inches shy of its target. Reacting quickly, I tried yanking my hand free, but he didn't budge. Glaring up at his mask, I tried to get a read on him; he wasn't moving at all anymore.

My eyes widened, however, when I noticed something particular; there wasn't anything behind the dark holes in the mask's face. There was just a deep darkness that seemed to have no end and it felt as if I was staring into the abyss. Covering up my shock, I looked away and instead tried to refocus my attack, putting as much force into the magic around my hand as I could.

"I'll just get this mask off your face and see who you really are!" I grunted, straining the muscles in my arm. Feeling the man's grasp waver, I smirked in triumph and took a step forward. That was when a feeling of weightlessness overtook my body and I began falling forward; it was like I was going up against nothing but the air and, much to my surprise, I found myself plowing right through the masked man.

Falling to the ground, the wind was knocked out of me and I lay there for a second. Regaining my senses, I jumped back to my feet and turned around in time to see the black cloak walking away from me yet again. Rather than chase him however, I just watched this time. There wasn't anything I could do to stop him.

I had phased right through him.

But what sort of over powered magic was that?

I sat there in silence with my eyes fixed on the spot the man once stood.

My first mission certainly panned out interestingly. One moment I was thinking that there wasn't going to be any action and then the next I was waging a fight against some weird guy. Sighing, I shook my head and let my shoulders slouch. I still had a long way to go before I was going to be able to keep up with Natsu and the rest of them.

I couldn't even take out a random mage.

"You Fairy Tail wizards have a knack for getting in trouble."

Jumping at the voice, I whipped around to find myself face to face with the Rune Knight from before. He shook his head in dismay, his arms crossed. "If you'll come with me please, I need to ask a few questions."

* * *

…

Reemerging from the woods, the knight led me back into Era. On the way back, we passed right by the street I had destroyed. The black hole in the middle was long gone and the area looked like it had been obliterated, yet there wasn't a trace of rubble left behind. Leaving it behind, the knight led me through several twists and turns through the other streets before reaching a smaller building; it was an office of sorts.

Passing through the main entrance, the man was swiftly greeted. That was how I found out his name was Doranbolt. I saw Mira too; she was standing off in the corner of the waiting area along with the shop owner, his assistant, and one other person I didn't recognize. Aside from Mira, the three men seemed to be preoccupied by some paper between the three of them.

Closing the door shut behind him, I found myself sitting across from Doranbolt at a fancy wooden desk. He began asking me a series of questions; it was a typical Q and A that every investigator would do, nothing out of the ordinary. But ever so slowly I began to get more curious.

"Wait, so who was that guy?" I interrupted.

Doranbolt's green eyes met mine and he paused.

"A man we have been chasing after for months—a cold blooded murder with no name." He answered seriously. "You are lucky to be alive; he's shown a knack for targeting young women in particular."

I paled slightly.

"That's…pleasant." I said sarcastically. "And he's a mage too? What kind of magic was that? I've never heard of anything like it before. It's like, how to explain it…empty I guess? With the way it was cutting through everything and taking it in it kind of reminded me of a black hole, really."

"We already have information on his magic abilities, so let's keep this on track. After leaving the store you were at, how did you find him?" He pressed.

"Well, I just followed my sense and it led me right to him." I answered with a shrug.

"But there has to be more than that. The Rune Knights have been tracking him down across Fiore's cities and only a few times he's let himself be seen in broad daylight like this."

"I suppose it did help that he was waiting at the end of the road."

"So yet another dead end." Doranbolt muttered settling back into his chair.

"Does this mean I can go now?" I asked plainly.

"Do what you want, but I'm letting you off with a fair warning for now. Try not to destroy public property in the future." I shrank back; throughout the entire interview I was wondering when he was going to mention something about it and I had even found myself being hopeful that he would forget. The more I thought about it, the more it didn't seem fair; it wasn't my fault that we were attacked…or that the man dodged my attack.

That was probably why Fairy Tail got into so much trouble all the time.

"Uh, yeah, I'll do that."

Slipping out of the door, I walked back down the hallway towards the waiting area. Mira was still there along with everyone else, only this time an extra face was there; Loke had showed up and he was the first one to notice my presence. The uncharacteristic frown on his face subsided as approached them.

"Long time no see," I joked. "You already finish your job?"

"Yes, actually. I was on my way back to the station when I heard about the trouble." He said coolly.

"I called him with the Lacrima," Mira added. "I had no idea where you went after you left and you did say to call for back up so I did."

"You weren't the ones to call the Rune Knights?" I asked stumped.

Mira put a hand up to her chin.

"Nope, that was me!" a masculine voice cut in. "The name's Jason and I'm a reporter from the Sorcerer Magazine and it is a pleasure to meet such a cool new member of Fairy Tail!"

Sorcerer Magazine?

My hand was snatched up in a rough handshake by the energetic young man. His hair was peculiarly styled with a single blond spike; it reminded me of a thumbtack. Around his neck was an expensive looking camera and a bag was slung over his shoulder. "My yes! This picture is marvelous for business—simply marvelous!" The store owner butted in, holding what looked like a photograph in his hands. Reaching up, I grabbed at it to take a look; Loke looked over my shoulder as well.

"Wow, you take a great picture." He said with a whistle.

"And you were saying you weren't capable." Mira teased.

"Okay, maybe I was wrong. This is actually pretty cool." I admitted.

The photo shot was of me right as I was deflecting the masked man's attack. My hand was positioned closely to my head, with a radiant light emitting from it. The rest of the picture looked like it was perfectly staged; the lighting wrapped nicely around the gray dress along with the dagger strapped at my waist.

"Just think about how many customers will come! An action shot displaying the outfit's durability in a real fight; it was something I never even thought of!" The store owner said snatching the picture out of my hands. "Here—this is for your fabulous work! Perhaps we can work together in the future. Oh, and don't worry about the outfit; think of it as a bonus. I gave Mira your clothing." He said wrinkling his nose in disdain.

He tossed a stack of paper at me and I flailed. I managed to prevent it from dropping to the floor and I stared wide eyed at the amount in my hand.

"And here's yours Mira darling! Alrighty Jason, we've got lots of photos to review!"

After handing more money over to Mira, the store owner, turned his heel and walked out of the building with his assistant and Jason following closely. The man looked absolutely giddy like he struck gold.

"Excellent work for your first job, don't you think?" Mira chimed. I looked down at Jewels in my hands.

"And you got one that paid pretty well." Loke said.

"I'll definitely remember this one, that's for sure." I said in exaggeration. "I expected a modeling job and chased down another mage—unsuccessfully I might add. Now I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go back to Magnolia. I'm so exhausted that I might collapse any minute!"

Mira laughed.

"Alright then, shall we return to the station? I think it shouldn't be much longer till the next train."

"Yes please!"

"You go on ahead then, I've got somewhere to be." Loke cut in. He turned to me and smirked. "Here, why don't you deliver this for me? You can keep whatever reward it is too."

He held out a bag in his hands and I accepted it with a raised eyebrow.

"Why?" I asked honestly. "You already got it, so why hand it to me?"

"Eh, I just don't feel like it" He said casually. "See you ladies back at the guild."

Dismissing himself, Loke left us once again.

"You two seem really close." Mira commented.

"I think it's more of a mutual understanding kind of thing." I hummed. Opening up the bag he handed me revealed a piece of paper and a small flowering plant. I chuckled at it; it was such a simple thing to request.

The paper was an address in Magnolia.

"Let's go, shall we?"

It really was an interesting day.

I finally went on my first official job. Now all that was really left in my book was to meet the other main characters—in particular figure out a way to survive meeting Natsu. After that it would be smooth sailing until Lucy showed up.

Maybe I was starting to look forward to it all again.

* * *

...

Author's note: This chapter I suppose is more like a filler before the actual story line is set to happen. It has its important points as well as a few minor character introductions; maybe we'll see more of the masked guy too. Anyways, it took awhile for me to pull this together because it wasn't something along the Canon story. With **Shadowjab17** 's help I managed to figure out a rough idea of what I wanted to happen for it.

Next chapter, hmmm... Finn might just run into Natsu, but who can say for sure?

And after that the story will be moving along full swing into the Canon!

Thank you so much to all of my reviewers and thank you to everyone who has read this story! If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts please feel free to leave a review!

Till next time,

~BlueCampanula


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Calm Before the Storm**

* * *

...

A week into living in Magnolia and after completing my first job, I finally found myself settling in. Walking around the streets began to feel less foreign. Each day I would run into familiar faces around the corner. The people who owned the bakery, a lady that walked her dog every morning, the group of kids who liked hanging around at the park. It made me feel a lot lighter than I had in weeks.

That item that Loke had me deliver?

It was for an older lady living in Magnolia, someone who was well over a hundred years old. Of a short and frail stature, she used a cane and went by the name of Nina. As it turned out the lady knew who I was which was something that stunned me when I found out. She had been present in Magnolia back then when Blue Skull was around. Apparently she was the one who contacted Warrod when I showed up in Magnolia a few months ago too.

" _About time you decided to visit!_ " she had cackled when I showed up at her doorstep. It explained a lot of things such as how Master Makarov and the rest of Fairy Tail didn't seem to know who I was when I first showed up or even the fact that I was a mage.

And then she did something even more unexpected.

She offered me the third floor of her tiny house, an apartment that was vacant. It had been empty for a few months and I couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason for that. The building itself was a three story cube with wide windows and a green roof. It faced out onto the canals too and was located on a quiet side street about an equal walking distance between the guild hall and Kardia cathedral. From what I had figured out about Fiore's currency system, the rent wasn't too bad either.

And I accepted.

I had an apartment now—my own home. Checking it out, I discovered that the space itself was small with a high ceiling that conformed to the roof. The walls were a soft yellow that melted into brown wooden floors and gave off warm tones. It was only had two rooms; a small bathroom and then the main room. Tucked away in the corner of the main room was even a modest kitchen nook. Aside from that the apartment was completely empty.

It was a lot smaller than the Mira and Elfman's apartment, but I liked it. And when I told Nina that I would take it, I felt almost excited. It had become the first place I could call my own. Even if my family wasn't around to see it, I was proud. Right after that happened, I ran all the way back to the guild to tell Mira about it. She was happy for me and before I knew it I had moved my things into it…well, a small backpack really.

I ended up draining out the money I earned with Mira between paying the first month's rent and purchasing a bed, dresser, and small table. And just like that my money was pretty much gone. Finding out about it, Levy gave me a short bookshelf as a housewarming gift and Reedus even painted a picture for me to hang on the walls. The two were actually my first guests, and Cana would stop by sometimes during the weekends.

And this all happened the day after the job with Mira.

* * *

...

"You knew something about this, didn't you?"

When Loke finally got back to the guild, I immediately zeroed in on him. He was sitting on one of the benches against the wall towards the back of the hall. On either side of him was a girl; the one with the wavy blonde hair was new. They appeared to be glaring at me as soon as I spoke to him. "Maybe. I'm not denying it," Loke said with a hint of smugness. "So tell me, have I gained this young lady's affections?"

I smirked at his words before it melted into a genuine smile.

"Well you have my undying appreciation, that's for certain!" I said gratefully. "Hey, I was also wondering…If you've got nothing planned, did you want to go on a job with me?"

"And here I thought you were about to ask me on a date," Loke said with a disappointed huff. "I take it you need a tour guide then?"

"Yup." I said fiddling around with a lock of my hair. "You see, Mira is busy and I don't know where Levy is." While I didn't want to admit it out loud, I knew I had become dependent on the two for help getting around places or providing me with the correct maps. Loke was the next available option, and I had no shame in asking for his help. I was also out of money and I needed to start working out a map in my head. If I was in Fairy Tail to stay, I wanted to become as familiar with everything as I could. That meant knowing how to travel around Fiore's cities too. "So what do you say?"

Loke thought for a second before shrugging his shoulders and leaning back in his seat. "So long as my ladies don't mind." He casually. The girls hanging off of him seemed to cling to him more if that was possible. Despite their body language, they nodded their heads in agreement. "We should probably wait a few hours though. The weather outside will ruin the mood."

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay then. I'll probably run back to my place and gather a few things. Oh, and the job is in some small town called Clover," I added handing him the tiny slip of paper in my hand. "And thanks again."

Pushing open the door, my eyes were met by the sight of gray clouds hanging in the skies above. Loke did mention the weather and I found myself agreeing with him; a massive storm was about to roll through and it was already turning my hair into a frizzy mess. I couldn't help but laugh because the weather itself was similar to my own situation. Letting the door close behind me, I stood still and took a deep breath; the air at least smelled nice, like it always did before a good storm.

Settling into my new life in Magnolia finally felt complete, and it made me start to think about the bigger picture; I started to consider what I knew. If I was correct, in about a month or so Lucy would be joining the guild. My magic was well on its way, but I needed to pick up the pace if I was to be prepared for the massive storm to come. There were so many issues that I had to deal with, and that was if I could remember them all in time.

There was the issue with Phantom Lord and the Tower of Heaven. And after that would be dealing with the battle of Fairy Tail and then Edolas. That would all be leading up to Tenrou Island. Even though I knew of those story arcs, my memories of them were far from perfect; many details were missing no doubt, and I would have to figure them out on the fly. Hell, I still had yet to meet some of Fairy Tail's major players, but a month would be enough time to collect my thoughts hopefully...Perhaps writing down information in a journal.

What a mess.

And things were much simpler before.

"Man, here I am a century later. I've joined the guild and I'm finally settling in… Strange though, it feels so empty," I muttered to myself. Reaching into my yellow jacket, I pulled the picture out of my pocket and found myself looking down at the faces of my friends. With all of the adjusting I had to do, I had found little time to think about them. I had kept the picture on me, however. Frowning a little, my eyes hovered over Yuri's face before I looked up. "And what would you think of all this?" I wondered.

Shaking my head, I brushed my question aside; I couldn't think about stuff like that now, not when I needed to focus on the future rather than the past. As I walked away from the guild, I started to tuck the picture away. A sharp wind caught my hand and took me by surprise.I stumbled forward with the force of it, flinging my arms out to catch myself.

That was when I felt the picture getting ripped from my grasp.

My reaction was instant. Gasping, my eyes darted up in time to see the old photo being carried down the main street. I broke out into a full on sprint, my heart already beating out of my chest. My thoughts started racing and I silently began cursing myself. I should have known not to be so careless, but there was no way that I was going to lose it like that. I would get it back no matter what. It was the one thing that I had left of my time with them.

Of Yuri.

"Come back here!" I shouted carelessly as I darted after it. It might have been windy, but the rain hadn't arrived yet. People were still out in the streets and carrying about like normal. Zipping in between them, a lot of curious faces turned to look at me as I pursued the tiny slip of paper floating through the air, others shouting at me to slow down. And there were even some people who were smart enough to clear out of my way.

And I was gaining on it fast.

The wind was dipping, causing the paper to sway up and down with it. Reaching out a hand, I leaped towards the paper with all of my might. That was when my body plowed right into someone else, knocking us both to the ground. I sat there dazed for a moment before catching sight of the bright pink hair of the person I was sitting on; he looked dazed before suddenly springing back up onto his feet with steam literally coming from his ears.

"Hey, watch where the hell you're going, I—" He abruptly cut off as he stared at my face. A blue cat came from behind us and started shouting in one of the most high-pitched voices I had ever heard.

"Natsu! Are you okay?!"

Yep, it was Natsu Dragneel. The boy having lost his anger merely turned to the cat pointing in my direction. Behind the two, I could see that the picture had snagged on a small box. "Hey Happy, do you remember seeing her around the guild before?" Natsu asked the cat. Over his shoulder I watched the picture slowly slip to the side. My heart dropped when it flew out of my sight, and with a start I remembered what I was doing.

Pushing past him, I started running again. That was before he grabbed me by the arm.

"Wait a minute," Natsu started saying. My eyes darted to him and before he began saying anything else I cut him off.

"Excuse me!" I said frantically shoving his hand off of me.

"What's the big deal?" He asked in confusing trying to stop me again. "Are you new—"

"No time to talk! My friends are being blown away from me!" I spat out hastily before I managed to push through. Pumping my arms, I bolted before anything else could be said. I would deal with that later. I heard the two shouting at me from behind my back, but I couldn't stop.

Running across the bridge, I caught sight of the picture again, and it was heading straight toward the cathedral. I ignored the pain forming in my side and pushed forward. My feet pounding against the pavement, I finally caught up to the picture just as the wind pushed it against the stone walls of the cathedral, Slamming my hand down over it before it could move again.

That was too close.

Breathing heavily, I tightly clutched the picture in my hands. There was a slight crease in the corner, but it wasn't damaged. I carefully put it back in the pocket, zipping it shut. I had almost carelessly lost one of my most valuable possessions. It was like a photo of my family and it had nearly been taken away from me. Releasing another sigh, I wiped the sweat that had formed on my brow. That was enough panic for the day.

A laugh escaped my lips when I realized what had just happened.

"'My friends are being blown away from me?'" I said crinkling my nose in disdain. "Could I have sounded any more delusional?" The single moment when I finally met Natsu Dragneel and I probably came off like a crazy person. On and off, I had musings about how my first meeting would be with him. What a way to introduce myself, but it wasn't like I could think of a grand introduction on the fly like that. No, in my haste I barely managed to string together a coherent sentence and at that time it sounded logical.

Well, nothing I could do about that.

Straightening myself out, I slowly peeked over my shoulder. I couldn't see any flash of pink or blue in my sight, but that didn't mean that I wouldn't have to deal with it later. I quietly promised myself that I would do better. At least when Lucy came around, maybe then I would be able to strike up a good impression.

Turning back around, I stopped and stared at the structure in front of me. Kardia Cathedral looked the same as it ever did, the same way it looked all those years ago. For the first time since fighting the dragon, I was standing in its shadow It towered over me and reached up into the sky making me aware of how small I was. In the back of my mind, I had avoided walking near it the entire time, sometimes taking a detour through the other streets. I felt especially wary of seeing the cemetery that existed behind it.

Not far from me, I could see a tall rot iron fence that was covered in vegetation. Backing away from it slowly, I came around to the front of the cathedral and stopped at its massive gates. Suddenly, a wave of curiosity washed over me, and I ignored the voice in the back of my mind that wanted me to walk away. Taking a deep breath, I pushed at the gate to open it. The hinges released a slight squeal and I waited in anticipation as the gate swung open, allowing me into the cathedral.

Walking in slowly, I could practically see the images of the Blue Skull members sprawled out on their backs along with the rubble from the fight. The sounds of the fight too were still fresh in my mind, and I could almost hear the shouts coming from inside. My footsteps echoed off the stone walls as I let the gate shut behind me. Nobody was around and I was completely alone.

That was when the silence hit.

The inside of Kardia cathedral looked slightly different this time. It had undergone some remodeling and repairs, but it felt exactly the same as it did before; even the altar was still there at the end of the massive hall. My eyes glued on it, I walked up the steps and approached the altar, laying my hand on it. Suddenly I felt angry, but then it was pushed aside by bitterness. It wasn't as if I was avoiding the place completely, but I never found myself wanting to go inside of it again. And now that I was there, it was as if I was acknowledging what had happened. Any signs of the fight that occurred about a century ago were gone, but there I was.

Releasing my hold on the table, I sat down on the steps and closed my eyes; I was getting a massive headache. Clasping my hands together, I started to meditate and tried to push the thoughts out of my head.

I couldn't change anything in the past even if I wanted to.

What was done was done.

* * *

...

Finally stopping by my house, I put the picture in the top drawer of my dresser. I sat around on my bed and looked out the window at the sky that grew darker with every passing second. After about thirty minutes, I got back up and headed for the guild. I didn't know what to expect now that I knew Natsu was around. But on the other hand, part of me did feel like fighting something…anything to take my mind off of wandering thoughts.

My ears were met by the sound of an argument.

I immediately spotted Natsu over at one end of the hall arguing with Gray who had already lost his shirt. The two didn't notice my entrance in the slightest and everybody else was carrying on like usual with some even watching the wizards bicker and passing money between their hands. I smiled faintly at the sight before heading towards the bar. Taking a seat, I rested my chin against the table and began thrumming my fingers against the wood in thought. I began to think about possible scenarios for dealing with Natsu and I couldn't help but wonder just how good of a fight I would be able to put up for him.

One thing was for certain, I was already at odds with him and that was saying something.

"Are you alright? You're acting differently today." Mira asked softly as she wiped down a mug in her hands. There was a small amount of concern underneath her smile. Perking up, I gave her another smile in return before responding, brushing aside her concern.

"I'm fine it's just…well, I guess the weather is getting to me, that's all."

A loud shout and a crash drew my attention briefly back over to the quarreling duo; there was a splintered table and Gray was right in the middle of it. My cheeks puffed up as I stifled back a laugh. Realizing what I had done, I quickly turned back around before Natsu looked in my direction. I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my head.

"That reminds me," Mira started cheerfully. "Have you met Natsu yet? He's right over there with the pink hair."

"Yeah, I ran into him earlier." I said hesitantly.

"There you are, Finn." Makarov's voice cut in. I turned to see the man hop up onto the bar beside me. "There was something I've been meaning to discuss with you."

"Okay, what is it?" I asked sitting up in my seat.

Before the old guild master could say another word, I suddenly found my vision assaulted by an onslaught of blue.

"—Hey! You're that girl from earlier!"

Startled, my body jerked backwards in response and I felt the seat go off balance. My eyes widened when the chair began to tip backwards and I flung out my hands to balance myself. With all of my momentum, however, it was too late to stop and I could feel that my foot was tangled in the crossbar of the stool. As if in slow motion I went down with the chair, falling flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me. The first thing I focused on after that was a rosy shade of pink. Natsu Dragneel was standing above me with a curious expression on his face.

"N-nice to meet you." I stuttered out. "My name's Finn."

My voice echoed and it was then that I realized the guild was completely silent. Blinking my eyes I came to my senses again and my cheeks flushing in embarrassment. The stillness felt in the guild was only broken when someone shouted out. "Nice," the voice applauded. And right away everyone in the guild broke out into laughter. Scrambling back up to my feet, I dusted my pants off before turning to face Natsu again.

He was laughing too.

Happy flew up beside me and tilted his head. "You're kinda weird," He stated bluntly.

"I'm having an off day!" I sulked.

"Sure you are," Happy said with a fish appearing in his mouth.

"Maybe my situation is weird, but I'm pretty sure my personality is fine." I mumbled.

Where did that fish come from?

"So what kind of magic do you use?" Natsu spoke up with curiosity.

Turning my attention to him, I smiled and stuck out my index finger, forming a small ball of light. "Light magic," I announced proudly, "but I still have a lot to work on…"

"Why don't we test that out then?"

"Wait, what?" I raised his fists in a challenge and suddenly I found my face pale slightly. Natsu Dragneel…was actually amused by the situation? The expression on his face showed a competitive grin, but there was definitely excitement underneath that. I didn't know what to say back.

"Come on! Let's see it!" He pushed. "You at least owe me this much for plowing me over."

"I, uh—"

"—I wasn't finished with you Flame Brain!" Gray's voice called out. That was when I saw a huge chunk of ice hurdling straight for the back of Natsu's head. Reaching forward, I pushed him aside in time to see the ice hurdle straight past the tip of my nose. It flew right into one of the tables sending people flying and eliciting a series of shouts.

"That's it," Elfman said cracking his knuckles. "A real man attacks head on!"

Before I could realize what happened, Elfman had risen from the debris and rushed past, barreling straight towards Gray who jumped out of the way. A loud crash was heard as another table was destroyed. I gaped at the sight for a few seconds before barely dodging a punch from Natsu. "I'm all fired up now!" He said readying a flame in his hand. There was a spark in his eyes and I found the expression on my face dropping further.

Crap.

I should have seen this coming.

* * *

...

Let's be honest here: I knew what I was getting into straight from the start.

It wasn't any secret that Fairy Tail often broke out into fights among its members. Both the anime and the manga made a point about that. The funny thing was that I almost forgot about that fact completely. Not including the day I arrived, there hadn't been any fights as crazy as this one. Maybe one or two people would be arguing, but not the whole guild.

Mass chaos erupted across the guild hall in less than a minute. Food was being tossed around and plants and even the furniture. I found myself nearly being bulldozed over by a bench and already I had been hit with liquid that smelled like whisky. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Makarov calmly talking to Mira as the two of them looked on at the mess before them, ignoring the shouts and war cries.

I didn't have much time to figure out who was doing what because of two things: flying objects and then Natsu.

Even with Gray trying to attack him, the pink haired guy aimed a lot of his attention at me. At first I had been caught off guard and dodged his incoming blows; everything around us was moving in a chaotic mass. A thin layer of fire was coating his hands and he had this huge smirk on his face. Finally moving past my own concerns, I began to fight back. Mimicking his motions, I enveloped my own hands with light and tried matching his hits blow for blow.

The heat from his flames singed my knuckles each time and I began to feel my arms starting to shake. With a kick from Natsu, I jumped back and put a small amount of distance between us.

"Not running away already, are you?!" Natsu taunted.

Despite myself I was beginning to feel a rush of energy too.

"I'm not backing down just yet!" I shouted back at him, a smug smile appearing on my face. "In fact, I can make this more interesting!"

An idea coming to mind, I raised my hands up in front of me and held them steady. Concentrating for only a moment, I was rewarded by the sight of three distinct figures materializing into existence. I mentally cheered at my success; before me stood three clones, each carrying my face. They looked almost perfect, and I was thrilled about it.

I hadn't tried it before in a fight, but my mirages all appeared to be solid copies.

"Find out which of us is the real one," I jeered. I moved forward with the clones, weaving in and out to try and create some confusion.

"Hey, no fair!" Natsu protested. I did not tell him that it was fair from my perspective. Natsu didn't know that my clones were just an illusion, and that gave me a small advantage. Sure, they could distract him, but it probably wouldn't take Natsu long to figure out which one was me. I had a shadow and the others did not. I could be hit, but the others could not. It didn't help that I had yet to figure out how to make them solid enough for an attack.

I was still working on that.

Natsu sent a fist at one of the clones and it disappeared on contact, dissolving into a shimmering cloud of light. Moving in I quickly tried to sweep him off of his feet with a kick. Sensing my move, he easily dodged it and in response sent another punch at me. I grabbed his wrist, narrowly avoiding the hit and redirecting it to the floorboards. Flipping over him with uncharacteristic ease, I readied my fists again, two more clones reforming by my side.

"Okay, so that's how it's going to be?" Natsu said excitedly. "Then I'll heat things up! Fire Dragon—"

The expression on my face went flat as I saw flame start to appear in Natsu's mouth.

"Roa—"

"That's enough!"

Before I could even react, a gigantic hand flattened Natsu into the ground and the guild went quiet. I felt my mouth tighten into a flat line at the sight; I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or be terrified because I had just seen a person being crushed before my own eyes. Makarov's hand lifted off of Natsu, returning to normal size. The old guild master shook his head in exasperation and hopped down from the table. "Using that kind of magic inside the guild I will not allow," He scolded, much to Natsu's dismay.

"No fun, Gramps!" Natsu protested as he sprang back up to his feet. "I was just getting warmed up!"

I was amazed at his energy.

"If you'd like, we can fight again sometime," I spoke up and approached the wizard. I held out my hand towards him. "As I said before, my name is Finn and you are—"

"Oh yeah, I'm Natsu!" He said with a wide grin, snatching up my hand in a firm shake. "And that's Happy!"

"Aye, Sir!" The blue cat added with a mock salute, perching himself on Natsu's shoulder. "Did you catch your friends?" I paused for a moment as my mind registered his words and then rubbed the back of my head sheepishly realizing what he meant. I didn't expect for Happy to remember my words from earlier.

"What were you running after earlier?" Natsu asked, tilting his head curiously.

I laughed nervously.

"Well, you see, it was a photo. I got it back though, so everything's fine! And I'm sorry that I ran into you."

"Eh, no big deal," Natsu brushed it off. He walked over to the bar and sat down. "Hey Mira!"

"Coming right up!" Mira responded right away without even batting an eye.

I walked over and picked back up my barstool which was miraculously still in one piece. The atmosphere in the guild had calmed down considerably and I noticed that people returned to what they had been doing before. Some of the members were even moving around in attempt to help pick up the mess and appeared to be using spells to help. Sitting down on the stool, I silently wondered what the guild's repair bill looked like. I already knew it had a large tab for alcohol and that was from taking one look at Cana.

"Here you go, Natsu." Mira said cheerfully as she slid a mug towards him. I stopped myself from gawking at the sight, but instead looked on curiously. The liquid inside the mug was on fire, and I watched as Natsu downed the whole thing in one swing. I nearly forgot that the guild served such things, but how it was made was beyond me.

"So…A fire wizard?" I asked unsure of what to say next.

"Natsu's not just a fire wizard, he's a dragon slayer!" Happy announced proudly.

"That's cool," I said casually. "So how exactly does that allow you to eat—er, that is to say drink that?" I'll admit, I was fishing for new magic ideas. Dragon slayer magic sounded and looked cool, but chances were that I was never going to be able to recreate it. I was still going to ask though.

"Dunno. It's something that Igneel taught me a while back." Natsu said with a shrug.

"Igneel?"

"Natsu's dad. He's a dragon!" Happy said before looking at me almost expectantly. He stood on the bar and tilted his head when I just stared right back at him.

"What?" I finally asked.

"Huh, usually people freak out about that. You really are a weirdo, weirdo."

"I thought we established that earlier." I sighed before snapping back to attention. Granted, I already knew about Igneel being a dragon, but in hindsight I should have acted more surprised. "And hey, I sorry I didn't react the way you wanted," I snipped sarcastically as an afterthought.

"Wait, so do you actually believe that?" Natsu finally chimed back in again. "Normally people don't take that seriously the first time around. I think Happy's right, you are kinda strange, Rin"

"It's Finn, but in all honesty I guess I'm not really surprised what with everything I've seen." And because I already knew that dragons did exist, but I wasn't going to say anything. I had the feeling that Natsu would have killed me with his enthusiasm if I said something. "Come to think of it," I said changing the topic, "your magic allows you to manipulate the fire around you to some extent, right?"

"I guess." Natsu said plainly. At that moment, Makarov returned to the bar, jumping back up to his spot on the counter to my right.

"Hey, Maka—I mean, uh, Master Makarov?" I asked turning to him.

"What is it?"

"With all of your knowledge on magic, do you think it would be possible for me to manipulate light around me? I mean, not just my own magic, but the light coming from the sun too," I said curiously. "I've been trying to figure out ways to expand my magic."

Not to mention my fight with Natsu jump-started my mind too.

Makarov paused for a moment to consider my question.

"If dragon slaying magic," I explained pointing to Natsu, "can allow it's user to absorb outside flames, then it should theoretically be possible for a normal mage to manipulate outside forces too, right? Everything is made of ethernano particles which we absorb into our bodies so couldn't we do that?"

Makarov nodded his head in thought. "I suppose it is a possibility, but there is only so much I can offer about the subject. I know a few individuals who have tried, but were rather unsuccessful in their endeavors. I think it actually led to the creation of the color changing magic sold in stores today."

"Huh." I said blankly.

"Finn, that reminds me…If you don't mind me asking, who exactly was your teacher?" Mira cut in. "You seem to know a lot about magic even though you say you learned it only recently."

Natsu choked on his second drink beside me.

"Wait, what?!"

I hummed in thought ignoring the boy's outburst. "Come to think of it," I finally said, "he never really gave us his name. I sort of just took to calling him teach. He was a very soft-spoken guy and seemed reluctant to help us, but when it came to magic, he knew his stuff. The way he broke down the concept of it made it seem so easy to understand, but he wasn't the easiest of teachers. It's funny because he came to us when we needed help the most and helped us find our magic. I know that I know him from somewhere though. "

And I did know his name—I know I did. But it was as if something was preventing me from remembering. His name was at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite get it and it was really starting to bother me.

"Us?" Happy chimed.

"Yeah, me and my friends. We learned magic together and..." I trailed off, mentally telling myself to stop. "Yup, that's pretty much it right there."

"Where are they? Did they join the guild too?" Natsu asked clenching a fist in excitement.

"No—well, I mean…" I winced at my sudden mess up before plastering a fake smile across my mouth. "We just went our separate way a while back and I haven't really talked to them since."

"Oh," Natsu said calming down instantly. "But if they're your friends, why didn't you guys stick together?"

My expression dropped, and I didn't know how to respond. The look on Natsu's face was a curious one, and his question was honest, but his words struck a cord in me, almost leaving me speechless. I opened my mouth several times before I finally found something to say. "It's a long story," I said uncertainly.

"And you don't have to say anything if you don't want too," Makarov interrupted. "Natsu be a little more respectful."

Right as Makarov said that, I felt a jolt down my spine.

"Respect?" a voice scoffed from seemingly out of nowhere. Immediately, I glanced over my shoulder, turning my head in all directions to try and find the source of it. I wasn't the only one who heard it. The guild had gone completely silent again, something that was turning out to be quite a regular occurrence. Brushing that minor fact aside, I bawled up my hand. It was involuntary, and I couldn't help it.

The reason why?

There was a familiar magic; slight, but it was there.

"You're one to talk about the state of respect in this guild, old man, the voice derided. "I come back and I find everything in shambles as usual. It doesn't seem like there is anything at all resembling respect in this place."

"Laxus," Makarov said with a disappointed bite to his voice. I finally looked up to see a tall blond guy wearing a gaudy looking green shirt. Overtop of it he wore a long black jacket that had gray fur trim around the edges. He leaned against the railing on the second floor, looking down at everybody with a cocky, smug grin on his face. It was definitely him—Laxus Dreyar.

I found myself swallowing a lump in my throat. A thought popped into my mind as I looked at him, and I struggled to push it back. He looked a lot like Yuri. Aside from his eyes being gray instead of green, he was standing in a way that reminded me of him. His magic too held the same slight spark in it. I could feel it even more as it seemed to fill up the entire guild hall. This caused me to smirk slightly; he appeared to be just as much of a show off too if that was any indicator.

"Laxus, why don't you come down here and fight me!" Natsu practically leaped out of his seat, and his fists were raised in the air. Beside him, Happy eagerly backed him up. Some others weren't as supportive; there were a few murmurs among the guild, and a few people snickering.

"Weren't you just flattened into the ground a second ago, you idiot?!" Gray called from behind Natsu.

"Hey, you wanna go, Ice princess?"

My eyes lingered on Laxus's fur coat and before I could help myself, a small chuckle escaped me. The tension eased out of my body and I shot Laxus a smile. "So you're Laxus, right?" I asked. "My name's Finn and I don't know if you remember, but you helped me a few months back. I wanted to thank you." As the words came out of my mouth, I made them as genuine as possible. I meant them.

Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"Hm? Did I?" He said arrogantly. "Ah, I remember now. It's hard to recognize a person when they're a bloody mess."

"Yep, that's me!" I replied.

"Then is that it?"

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"You ought to be groveling on your knees in appreciation," He snorted haughtily. "I wasted my own time in order to help you and this is all I get in return? And on top of that you turn out to be nothing more than another weakling this guild has taken in."

My heart sank and I began to frown.

"Laxus, how dare you—" Makarov began in a near boiling rage.

I held out my hand and stopped him.

And he did.

"Oh-ho, since when did you let anyone silence you, old man? You really have gotten soft," Laxus mocked.

"Hell, somebody's cloudy with a chance of insults, thunderboy," I growled.

"Oh?" Laxus said leaning over the railing. "She's actually got bite? That's an improvement, but is that the best you can do?"

I almost rose to his challenge before a wave of disappointment took over my resentment at his words. My shoulders dropped slightly and my expression mellowed out. I didn't know what I was expecting from Laxus. Did I expect right off the bat that I would be his friend? Did I expect him to act any different? His personality might have turned around later on in the anime, but right now he was nothing more than an arrogant ass with a chip on his shoulder.

Again, what else was I expecting, really?

"Tch. Perhaps I was wrong," Laxus interrupted my thoughts. "I'm done wasting my time here. I have more important things."

"—hey!" Natsu called out in protest. Before he could say or do anything else, Laxus disappeared from the 2nd floor in a flash of lightening. With his departure, everybody slowly started talking again. Meanwhile, my gaze lingered for a little longer on the top floor before coming back down to the bar in front of me.

"Not like him at all." I mumbled in dismay as I sank down further into the chair.

"Not like who?" Natsu asked.

I jolted when I realized what I had said.

"You know what?" I said getting out of my seat. "Ignore me. It was nice meeting you, Natsu. I'll see you guys around."

"Finn, I apologize for my grandson's actions. He—"

"It's okay, Master. I understand." I said tiredly. "It's easy to see that he's got a bone to pick with someone, so I guess I won't hold it against him. Still…talk about a way to introduce yourself. I think he's got to work on his people skills a bit more. I'm beat, so I'll see you guys." I excused myself again before pausing.

"Hey, Master? Didn't you say you needed to talk to me about something?" I questioned.

"I think it's best we discussed it another time," He answered wisely.

Not thinking anything of it, I merely nodded my head before turning away.

Pushing open the guild doors, I thought for a moment and instead decided to turn around, heading out the back door of the guild.

* * *

...

Picking up a pebble in my hand, I examined it before chucking it with all my might at the water. It skipped across the surface, creating ripples in its wake before disappearing underneath the unusually dark surface. The clouds overhead were definitely reflecting my mood now and it started to rain softly. "Why the heck do I feel like this?" I said picking up another stone. Weighing it in my hand, I skipped it. "You know, I blame you. Or…maybe I should just blame myself?"

The figure standing beside me shifted.

Lowering my hand, I turned to see Yuri looking back at me with a disapproving look on his face, a look that seemed to say 'oh really?'

"There's no reason to stare at me like that. I've really turned this day into a pity party for myself, but it's hard to just keep going like this and keep pretending that everything's fine and dandy with my life." I kicked a rock at my foot and it landed in the water with a plop. With a sigh, I sat down on the ground. "It's weird. Now I've resorted to talking to a figment of my imagination."

Yuri crossed his arms.

"Okay, fine. Illusion if you want to be technical about it," I grumbled. "But I guess I just…I really miss this, you know? I consider you one of my best friends, is that strange?"

It was.

I had only known him for a few months at least—Yuri and the others. Now even with my memory back, I still thought of him as my best friend. Surely there were other people that I knew and called friends, right? But the more I sat there and thought about it, the more I realized that aside from my family I could only recall one or two faces. Did I call one of them a friend? I didn't know. The bottom line was that I felt alone. I knew that I still had Warrod, but he was miles away, not even mentioning the fact that to him I disappeared decades ago.

And for some reason I missed Yuri the most.

I flopped backwards onto my back and turned my head a little.

"I suppose that maybe my memory's not as complete as I thought it was." The rain got louder and started to pour, but I didn't budge. Instead, I stared up at the sky. I let my hair get soaked and rested my hands across my stomach. "You can't say anything, can you?"

Yuri's image gave an apologetic look as the rain began to tear right through him. I watched impassively as he disappeared out of my sight, unable to remain visible any longer.

"Starting now, I won't be held back anymore. This is the last day that I'll mope around like this, I promise."

It was time for me to start planning something.

Anything.

I just needed to find my way to keep going forward.

"Hey, didn't anyone ever tell you it's not good to sit out in the rain?" Loke's voice called out. I could hear his feet stepping through the muddied ground. Appearing in my vision, I noted how wet his hair had gotten; it was being kept out of his face with his sunglasses sitting on the top of his head. "We still have that job to go on, if you're still up for it that is."

Loke reached out his hand towards me.

Smiling weakly I reached out and grabbed it.

"Yeah, I'm up for it. Give me a few seconds and I'll be ready to go."

* * *

...

Author's note: Here's the next installment. Finn finally meets Natsu! I was actually at a loss with how to write this, especially with Laxus's appearance. I even went back and rewrote sections of it. Let's just say that some things could have ended up entirely different. Shout out to my Beta: **Shadowjab17** for helping me out!

Now onward to the canon story! And don't worry, I'll add an extra at the end of next chapter for how Finn meets Erza.

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: The Start of Another Journey**

* * *

...

Exploring around Fiore was turning out to be really fun.

Traveling wasn't something that I did often. Like any normal family, mine was one that operated in the same old familiar surroundings I had been in since I could even remember. Home wasn't as diverse as the landscape that was now before me. Fiore was a place that, while dotted with highly populated cities, was covered in a vast expanse of forests and countrysides. Roads wound in and around those places, but the best way to get around was the country's extensive railway system. It was limited, but traveling by train was the fastest way to cut time.

It was a lot easier than traveling on foot, that was certain.

And I ended up figuring out pretty quickly how to navigate too. Thanks to all the jobs I was taking, after about two weeks I had it figured out. Of course, that wasn't all that I was doing with my time. The little bookshelf in my tiny apartment was filling up with numerous books on magic, something that I found myself collecting.

Keeping a little red book, I carefully recorded everything I could on my magic and compiled notes and diagrams. Studying magic had become a pet project of mine, one that I was becoming almost proud of. It wasn't hard for me to get hooked on it either, especially when it didn't exist where I was from. Most of my attention was on magic as I tried to better my own skills.

That was actually the primary goal that was instilled in my mind. In order to be ready for anything, I had to work towards mastering my own magic. If Mavis and the other treasure hunters were capable of catching onto magic that fast, then so was I.

In the span of a few weeks, my mind was occupied by magic theory and I even created my own training schedule.

I still got help from Reedus, but physical activity reincorporated itself back into my routine. Until I started running again I didn't realize just how out of shape I was. Playing sports from the time I was young and then losing my memories and going into a coma hadn't exactly been good for me. On the other hand, I came to notice how easier it was to run compared to before. It was like magic had given me a boost.

That was also probably one of the reasons I became so invested in magic after that. It was something that appeared to have endless possibilities with what it could do, so who wouldn't be interested? Elements could be formed from nothing, breaking the laws of physics. Something like light that had no substance before could be concentrated into a physical form that could either be soft or scorching to the touch.

With Natsu and Happy around, my motivation only further increased.

Between all of the jobs I took and the research I did, I wasn't exactly glued to the hip with Natsu. I decided that it wasn't going to be that way either. Part of my reasoning was because I was worried about Loke. In the past month he had been one of the few people I talked to among the guild. All that aside, I did still ask the dragon slayer to train with him…for a grand total of two times.

At first I thought it would be a good way to measure my own progress, but I was wrong. The way Natsu 'trained' was chaotic. Both times I ended up going against him in a supposedly light spar and both times I came out covered in more than just a few bruises.

Never again.

After that I learned to stick to my own form of training. Over all, I had a good feeling and the knot in my stomach was lessening. I had made a lot of progress with myself and now it was only a matter of time before I would be put to the test.

* * *

…

"Sounds like you've done a lot of digging since I last saw you!" Warrod said with a dry laugh. "Reminds me of how Precht was."

"I guess that's one thing we have in common then." I added in wry amusement. I put down the teacup that was in my hands. "I feel like I've finally gotten somewhere, you know? Fiore is something more than I could have imagined."

"Otherworldly, isn't it?" Warrod cracked.

I smiled at his pun.

"You have no idea."

At that we both erupted in laughter. I didn't realize how much I had come to miss his company. Compared to a month ago, I felt so much better than I did before. I didn't feel stuck anymore and I was beginning to feel more assured about what was to come.

I even managed to visit Warrod after not being able to see him the whole time. I was sitting right now in his home; a small wood cottage that was perched on the top of a grassy knoll. As I expected, Warrod kept no shortage of plants in his house. The whole room we were in was inhabited by what I estimated to be a little over a hundred pots of leafy green plants, all of them sporting flowers of different sizes and colors.

"So tell me, what other things have you been working on? I know that you wouldn't simply be studying magic theory." Warrod said collecting his breath.

"Well," I said pondering an answer. "A lot of things actually. You were right when you said light is capable of many things. I found out how to create mirages and, heck, I can manipulate the visible spectrum in any way I want. Maybe I'm well on my way to creating my own personal camouflage."

Within a few weeks, I had reverse engineered the color spell that Makarov had mentioned. Proof was the jacket I was wearing; the top half of my mustard colored jacket was now black. I was beginning to think that down the road it would even be possible for me to turn myself into a human chameleon, but that would depend on how well I could mold ethernano that existed in the light around me.

That idea officially took root when I began trying out more styles of offensive magic. After finally sitting down and taking the time to think about it, I even came up with a list of things I wanted to try. I was already working on that by attempting to recreate the move solar beam from Pokémon. There was no shame on my part, and I was going to steal it for my own use. Trying to pull that with my own magic reserves was out of the question, however. I actually passed out from trying it.

With all the magic that I had coursing through my body, it wasn't enough to develop a Hail Mary attack like that one. But it had been successful so far. I managed to recreate a smaller version of solar beam, but with time I knew I could take it further. I was close to getting a mirage to pull it off too, but even then it still used up quite a bit of my own magic.

It took magic to draw in magic.

Needless to say that still tired me out, but at least not nearly as fast.

"Yeah, anyways, I've been keeping busy." I surmised. "I can't believe that it's already July."

"And Era has a brilliant flower festival at the end of the month, if you've got the time. I highly recommend it." Warrod announced as he got up from his chair. Clearing away our teacups, he walked towards the small sink in his kitchen.

"I'll try to make it then. It'll all depend on what's happening though, so I can't make any guarantees." I answered with a yawn. "I just have the feeling that things might become a bit…hectic."

"Do what you can, after all we both run on rather different schedules nowadays." Warrod said in agreement. "Speaking of which, I believe it's already late. Didn't you say you had some critters to take care of?"

I blinked as his words registered in my mind. Getting up, I stretched out my arms toward the ceiling.

"Yeah. I'm supposed to get rid of some nocturnal creatures supposedly tormenting people a little ways east out of Era. Something that the Rune Knights couldn't be bothered with." I finished with a snort. "I guess they would be coming out right about now. It's been nice catching up, Warrod."

"Well, any time you find yourself back in Era don't hesitate to drop by. Even if I might not be here, the flowers appreciate your company." He said with a cackle.

"I'll be sure to come back in one piece then."

* * *

…

I stood at the train station in utter silence.

Aside from two or three people, the usually busy station was completely empty.

My arms were covered in more than a few scratches, and I was pretty sure the back of my leg had been nibbled on too. Nonetheless, the small dog like creatures had been disposed of. I didn't think I would look at a Chihuahua the same again, not with the fact that that was what they looked like. But I was about 40,000 Jewels richer from that. It was about half of my month's rent and it was only the 1st of July. Or maybe it was the 2nd now, I wasn't sure but I was definitely tired.

The train showed up in a matter of minutes and I soon found myself ungracefully sprawled across the wooden bench in one of the carts. There was only one other person who boarded the train with me and I felt his judgmental stare without even having to look. Out of curiosity I tilted my head back to see who it was only to find myself looking at a young kid with sandy blond hair and dull blue eyes. Silently I scoffed; what was a kid like him doing out at this late of an hour?

Then again, the people I had crossed paths with in the past few months of being in Earth Land were far more different than people on Earth.

There were still crooks and criminals of the like, but most people were unusually friendly. How they acted was atypical of how I would have expected them to act. You could trespass in someone's house or destroy a town and the best part of it all was that you got either a small fine or a slap on the wrist. In fact, the whole entire government seemed so laid back. The only guess I had as to why people were like that was because they had to adjust to dealing with magic users. Facing a harsh punishment would be for something far worse than what any regular magic user did in a day.

Shrugging off the kid's wary gaze, I folded my arms across my chest and leaned back against the window.

Odd people indeed.

I let my eyes close and didn't realize that I had drifted off to sleep until I heard the conductor announcing the train's arrival at Magnolia. Stifling back a yawn, I slowly got out of my seat and made my way out to the platform. My eyes remained half-lidded as I entered the station; the sun was already out which meant that it took me a little longer than expected to complete the job. All that meant to me now was that my sleep schedule had been thrown off…again.

"Hey Finn!"

I snapped my eyes open at the voice and saw Natsu quickly racing towards me with Happy in tow.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Studying his appearance, I quickly answered my own question. He was wearing an awfully familiar red jacket over his usual attire with a massive green pack slung over his shoulders. And if Natsu was at the train station, it looked like it was time for Lucy Heartfilia to show up.

"Found out there's rumor about a Salamander passing through Hargeon!" Natsu said eagerly as he came to a stop. "It could be Igneel!"

"Come on, Natsu! We've gotta go!" Happy added.

"I want to go too!" I decided hastily. "Three pairs of eyes are better than two if you want to find someone!"

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Natsu said grabbing me by the hand. I found myself being pulled back onto another train, and not a moment too soon. I could hear the train whistle blow, signaling its departure. It looked like I was in for another three hours on a train. On the upside, I was going to get to see Hargeon again. I hadn't been back there yet since the day I arrived back from Tenrou.

As soon as the train lurched forward, Natsu appeared to slump down where he stood. He didn't even make it to a seat in time before his motion sickness kicked in. This was the first time I was seeing it in action, and I didn't realize how bad it was; I thought that the anime was exaggerating. Natsu's face was a really nasty shade of green too.

Taking pity on him, I bent over and carefully helped him up. My legs buckled underneath his limp body. "Man, I didn't think someone could get motion sickness like this." I grunted as I slung his arm around my shoulder, escorting him to one of the vacant seats. Natsu's only response was a muddled groan.

"That's Natsu for ya!" Happy chirped casually. "Happens every time with transportation."

I felt a twinge of pity for dragon slayers.

"Poor guy." I said sitting down across from the pink haired wizard.

"It's okay. I'm used to it." Happy responded casually.

"So you guys really think this Salamander is going to be Igneel?" I asked.

"Maybe." Happy hummed. "We've been looking for him for a while."

"So I take it this is the biggest lead you've had yet." I concluded.

"Won't know…until…find him." Natsu moaned weakly.

"We've got a while before we arrive in Hargeon, right? I remember seeing the train schedule before and it'll take us a few hours. Until then, I think I'll get some shut eye. You should too, Natsu." I said eyeing him wearily. "Maybe that'll take your mind off your motion sickness."

Or stop him from throwing up all over me.

I was beginning to regret my decision of sitting across from him in the first place. Natsu gagged in response to my words and I cringed slightly. Moving my legs up onto the bench, I started to drift to sleep again. I was going to need it with what was supposed to happen today. The question was, what was I going to do? It had been a spur of the moment decision to tag along and I didn't have a plan in mind.

A smirk curled onto my lips.

I could go touring around Hargeon and explore it for a while; see what had changed. After that, maybe I would go shopping and crash a party before heading back to Magnolia. Suddenly I found myself looking forward to being in port town again and somewhere deep inside my mind excitement was stirring.

* * *

…

Hiding the guild mark from view made things easier while traveling, especially through the bigger towns. I now knew why most wizards didn't put the mark on their face. It garnered too much attention, from both town guards and criminals. It was easy for me to disguise it though; a slight tweak of the light and the creamy, soft white color melded in with my normal skin color. At a glance it looked merely like a faint scar to the observer.

Thank you light magic.

That was how I was able to parade through Hargeon, browsing through the market district without receiving any looks or having anyone approach me. I was invisible and blended in with the crowd. As it turned out, Hargeon hadn't changed a bit over the years. When compared to Magnolia, the town was timeless in appearance. That fact was probably a given considering that Magnolia had been under siege by Blue Skull, but one would think a hundred years would have brought about some sort of change.

There were different vendors and different people; that was expected. Perhaps the town had seen the addition of a few buildings even, but aside from that it appeared the same to me and that came as somewhat of a relief. It meant that I knew where I was going.

Getting off at the train station, I found myself going my separate way with Natsu and Happy. I decided that right after I barely fished Natsu off of the train in time before it left. The pink haired wizard needed to make his own way through the town without me. If I was there with him, I had the feeling that somehow something would change. Natsu could possibly just pass by Lucy and not even bat an eye and that wasn't what I wanted.

After passing it off as a suggestion to split up and search the town, the plan was to meet back up with Natsu and Happy near the fountain in the park around four. That gave me plenty of time to get lost in my own thoughts too.

Navigating my way through many of the market stands set up along the streets, I passed the time looking at the baubles and trinkets being sold. I even bought some small candies in the process. Keeping my eyes open, I carefully watched for Lucy or the man who called himself salamander; I couldn't recall his actual name. Occasionally I would overhear a girl or two mentioning a salamander and I would stop and casually listen. Part of me found it laughable at how easily manipulated they were by a simple charm and another was a bit…displeased that he was using the name.

I didn't run into anyone I knew the entire time. It was when I stumbled across the small mage shop that Lucy was shown visiting in the show that I thought about them again. Walking inside, I asked the old man sitting behind the counter about gate keys. He confirmed it himself that the only one he had was purchased earlier by a busty young teenager with blonde hair.

Other than that, my little excursion to Hargeon was turning out to be boring. Within the passing of a few hours, I found myself sitting on a bench in a section of the park waiting for Natsu to show up. A newly purchased book was cradled in my hands which I was reading with faint interest. It was only when a voice interrupted me that I came back to attention.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sat here?"

Blinking, I glanced up from my book to see a young blonde girl in a blue skirt looking down at me. Was I surprised? Yes. I finally ran into Lucy Heartfilia. Not showing any outside reaction, I shrugged my shoulders at her question before quirking a smile.

"Not at all." I replied cheerfully. I didn't realize that out of all the places I chose to sit down, it happened to be near the bench were Lucy had gone in the anime. What a coincidence and if she was here that meant that the other guy would show up too... Bora, that was his name.

I remembered it now.

"Thanks!" Lucy chirped. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her sit; she had a copy of the Sorcerer Weekly in her hands. I tried going back to my book, but now my attention was drawn towards Lucy. She sat there and flipped through the magazine, an amused look on her face. Against my better judgment, I shut my book and decided to strike up a conversation with the girl.

"That's…Sorcerer Weekly, right?" I asked.

"Hm?" Lucy hummed taking her eyes off the magazine's pages. "Oh. Yeah, that's right. It's the newest issue. Have you read it?"

"I've, uh, never actually read that magazine before. I've seen it a lot though." I answered. "Sorry. I guess I'm just asking because I'm kind of bored. You see, I'm waiting on a friend of mine to show up."

"No, that's fine. I know the feeling." Lucy responded lightheartedly. "So you've never read it before? It's a lot of fun to read. You get to see stuff all the time about the different wizards that are across the continent. Oh, and the guilds too. Check this out." She said flipping a few pages in the magazine before holding it up. "Maybe you've seen her pictures in other magazines? Mirajane Strauss is pretty famous and it just so happens that she's at the center fold!"

Lucy squealed looking at the picture herself.

"She's a member of the Fairy Tail guild! I'm so going to join it!" Lucy rambled. "I suppose I should explain. I use magic too, but a wizard can't be considered full-fledged unless they join a guild. I wonder, what it would take to join Fairy Tail? It's totally one of the coolest guilds in Fiore!"

She really did talk a lot.

"So why don't you just ask?" I interrupted.

"Huh? Well, I suppose…Wait, would it really be that easy to join Fairy Tail? I think there would be an interview or something…" Lucy asked pondering her own question. While she was doing that, I suddenly remembered Bora and silently wondered when the guy was supposed to show up.

"What was that? You want to join Fairy Tail?"

Speak of the devil.

I moved to my feet just in time to avoid Lucy's involuntary hand flail as Bora sprang out from the bushes like the total creeper he was.

"S-Salamander?!" She hissed in surprise.

"I've been looking all over for you." Bora announced with a gleam. "I wanted to invite you to a party on my yacht tonight."

Lucy pointed at the man boldly. "Your charm spell won't work on me!" She declared before glancing at me. "Don't fall for it. This guy's using a charm spell, but it won't work on people if they know it's being used."

I simply nodded my head.

I was already well aware of Bora's little charm spell. Rather than interrupt them, I watched in faint amusement as a familiar scene unfolded right in front of me. My gaze started to drift towards Bora himself and I silently began critiquing his outfit. Believe me, I was never one to judge people's appearance, but who the heck dressed like that? The ridiculous purple cape he wore was an eyesore when combined with his red striped pants.

He really wasn't doing that cape any justice.

"This just proves that even famous wizards can be big idiots." Lucy shot turning away from the man.

"You wish to join the Fairy Tail guild, right?" Bora then said with a devious smirk on his face. "Have you ever heard about Salamander?"

"Wait, you're telling me that you're him? You're Salamander?!" Lucy questioned in awe. I raised an eyebrow before scowling at the man, but he didn't notice.

"That's right and if you want to join I can probably put in a good word for you."

I snorted.

"Do you really think I can join?"

"But of course. I don't see why not. Just don't mention the charm spell." Bora said extravagantly.

"I won't!" Lucy chirped back excitedly.

"I'll see you at the party tonight!" Bora announced, snapping his fingers in a flourish. A glyph appeared in front of him before a wave of purple fire appeared beneath his feet. "And you can bring your friend too." He remarked casually. In another dramatic display of his magic, the flames lifted him up from the ground and he disappeared out of sight.

"You got it Mr. Salamander, sir!" Lucy said waving at him. She then froze up as if realizing how she just acted. Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head, mumbling something under her breath.

"Salamander?" I said skeptically. "That guy's Salamander? He really doesn't look like one."

"Salamander is the nickname of a pretty famous wizard." Lucy answered. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if all famous wizards are strange like that."

Famous my ass.

"So…there's a party later on." I stated.

"Yeah. Earlier he was inviting a bunch of girls to it earlier. I suppose I should be getting ready then. You don't have to go if you don't want to. I know that he seems like…" Lucy's lip curled slightly in disgust. "Anyways, if he can get me into Fairy Tail—"

"I'll go with you. He mentioned Fairy Tail and I'm kind of interested." I said pointedly. "Don't get me wrong, I also don't trust that guy at all."

And I didn't.

"So you're…going because you don't trust him?"

"I'm not about to let a fellow girl go anywhere alone. Besides, I can't really turn down the invitation either." I mumbled the last part under my breath with a smirk.

"Wow. Thanks, that's really…nice. You'd do that for a stranger?"

"My name's Finn." I announced with a mock salute.

"Oh! Mine's Lucy! It's nice to meet you." She said gleefully. "We should be getting ready then. Did you want to come with me?"

"I'm waiting for my friends to show up still but, I'll tell you what, why don't we meet down at the docks in a couple of hours?" I suggested.

"That works for me." Lucy nodded before turning to walk away. "Oh, and don't worry. If anything funny happens, I can get us out of there, just leave it to me! See you later!"

I waved at her retreating figure.

Things definitely took an interesting turn.

Instead of crashing the party, I was now invited to it. That meant I needed to go dress shopping…

Feeling impatient all of a sudden, I began pacing around instead of returning to my seat at the bench. Natsu and Happy were supposed to show up any minute, but I was beginning to wonder if they were going to show up at all. Glancing towards the fountain and then the opposite way, I decided to strike off and find the two on my own. Narrowing my eyes in focus, I began to search for faint traces of Natsu's magic.

Turning heel, I headed away from the bench and started looking. Luckily for me, I didn't have to go very far before I stumbled across the teen by chance. It wasn't hard to pick him out from a crowd, especially with his rosy pink hair and the blue cat walking beside him.

"Hey! Natsu! Happy!" I barked breaking out into a jog to catch up to the two. Happy was the first to turn around and he seemed to say something to Natsu before the boy himself stopped. "You guys are actually heading in the wrong direction." I said slowing to a stop beside them. "The park's over that way."

"To tell you the truth, I forgot about that." Natsu said plainly. "Did you find anything?"

"I found a Salamander, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't the one you're looking for…too human." I said rolling my eyes.

"You saw him too." Happy concluded. "Seemed pretty fishy to me."

"But hey, check this out!" Natsu said rifling through his pack before pulling out what looked like a paper. "He gave me his autograph."

"Man, no fair. I didn't get anything." I chuckled with a playful pout. "That reminds me, there's something I'm going to check out later. What else are you guys going to do?"

"We're going to keep looking for Igneel. Maybe there's another Salamander here in town somewhere." Natsu said thoughtfully.

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

"Then I'll see you guys later. Don't get into any trouble now!" I teased as we began taking our separate ways.

I was starting to have fun today, my tiredness forgotten.

* * *

…

Bora had the weirdest yacht I had ever seen.

It was a tall boat with features that gave it an industrial look while at the same time columns and other decorations created a grand part like atmosphere. I wagered that in a really rough storm, however, there was no way it could possibly remain upright while being tossed around. The only guests on the deck were young women, some who had to be as young as sixteen.

I boarded the yacht with Lucy, wearing a lavender colored dress that I purchased last minute. I meant to buy something that was an eye sore and extremely tacky, but I couldn't find the right one in time. I left my other clothes along with Precht's dagger hidden back in town in a place only I would know to look. The only thing I kept with me was the silver pendant around my neck. Lucy herself was wearing a pretty red dress that showed off her busty figure and for a moment I felt a slight twinge of jealousy before stamping it out.

No sooner had the ship set sail, Bora zeroed in on Lucy pretty quickly and asked her to a private room to supposedly discuss Fairy Tail. After she left with him, I kept a wary eye on my surroundings. The only guests on board the boat were women, disregarding the crew which suspiciously consisted of only men; they were offering out as many drinks to the women as possible. Steering clear of them, I made sure that no one was looking when I began trailing in the direction I saw Lucy go.

I wasn't going to leave her alone for too long.

It wasn't hard for me to slip in the cabin; finding a back door, I checked through the little round window before moving in. Bora's back was turned to me as I quietly shut the door and Lucy had a surprised expression on her face before it quickly vanished. Not announcing my presence, I drifted over to the white shelf positioned right next to the door, rifling through the various wines and other alcoholic beverages sitting on it. The clanking noise was enough to catch the man's attention as I nonchalantly turned to him with a bottle of orange colored liquor in my hand.

"Excuse me, this is a private room." He almost growled.

Casually looking away, I raised the bottle to my lips and yanked out the cork with my teeth, tossing it aside before sniffing the bottle's contents. It burned my nostrils, but it actually smelled rather pleasant; a hint of citrus.

"Sorry, don't pay me any mind." I said bluntly. "Just looking for stuff that won't make a girl sleepy. Actually, tell me something. How many times have you gotten away with something like this?"

As soon as the question left my lips, he rose to his feet.

"How unfortunate, I was hoping that it would go unnoticed. It appears that I extended my invitations too liberally."

"You were using sleep magic." Lucy stated a fact. She got up out of her seat and crossed her arms at the man. "No, you're using magic to take advantage of others?! Why would a Fairy Tail wizard do this?"

"Fairy Tail?" The man scoffed. "do you really still believe that? I just said that to lure you onto the ship." He snapped his fingers and the curtains behind Lucy pulled aside on command, revealing the sleeping girls. Bora's crew was standing with them, jeering at the haul they had. "Now why don't you two sit tight until we reach Bosco?"

"Bosco?!" Lucy said in dismay.

"That's our Salamander all right." One of the men sneered.

"That reminds me," I finally spoke up. "Did you think you think that you could use the name Salamander and it would go unnoticed? How about Fairy Tail? Huh, _Bora_?"

His eyes narrowed at the name.

"None of that matters. You and the rest of the ladies on this ship are already set to be slaves." Bora said trying to brush it aside. There was unease in his expression that he couldn't mask though.

"You…" Lucy growled reaching for her keys. In the blink of an eye, however, Bora lashed out with his magic, slapping the keys from her hands. But before he could catch them, I moved even faster and snatched the keys in midair, retreating away from Bora with my back closer to the wall.

At that, he actually appeared stunned.

"I'll repeat that name again. Fairy Tail." I said venomously.

"Why should it matter to you? Now hand over those keys. They only work for the contracted wizard and they will do you no good. Fighting is a wasted effort. You don't want to make me angry." Bora seethed.

"You monster!" Lucy said with tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Finn…"

Where the heck was Natsu?

He was really dragging behind.

Oh well.

"I forgot to mention something earlier, Lucy." I tried reassuring her. "You see…I know magic too!" I didn't quite want to steal Natsu's incredible reveal about Fairy Tail, but given the circumstances I willingly walked into I had to do something. I wasn't about to let any of those grimy men lay their hands on me, nope. The mark on my face was still hidden anyways, so it didn't matter for now.

"You're a—"

Before Lucy could finish her sentence, a loud crash tore through the cabin. Bora and his men were rendered speechless by the sudden explosion coming from the ceiling above. Splintered wood rained down on us and Natsu suddenly appeared in the cloud of rubble, landing directly behind Bora. "About time you showed guys showed up." I said coolly.

This was probably the most theatrical introduction I had ever done in my life and I was enjoying every second of it. That is, until Natsu's motion sickness caught up with him. He keeled over instantly, his face paling.

"You are so lame!" Lucy balked as I held my hand over my face.

"Lucy?" Happy's voice came from above us. "What are you doing here? And Finn, you're here too?"

"Happy? I'm glad to see you! This jerk tricked me into thinking I could join Fairy Tail!" Lucy said accusingly. Bora and his crew in the meantime looked absolutely confused by the turn of events. "And hang on, you know each other? Since when did you have wings?"

She was just as confused too.

"I'll explain all of that later," Happy said wrapping his tail around Lucy. "Now hold on!" He said taking off into the air with Lucy dangling beneath him screaming.

"Don't let them get away! We can't have them reporting this to the magic council!" Bora commanded snapping out of his stupor.

"Oh no you don't!" I retaliated before he could move. "Rain of Light!"

Spreading out my hands wide, a massive bright yellow glyph appeared before me, unleashing a torrent of sparkling yellow rays. Careful to avoid the sleeping girls, I directed my attack full force at Bora and his men and tore a hole through the wall, opening it up onto the deck. Blinking, I noticed that I still had Lucy's keys in my hands. Grinning, I readied myself and with a burst of magic hurled them in her direction.

In a ray of light, the keys launched out of my hands.

"Lucy!" I shouted as loud as I could. "Heads up!"

As I did that, Natsu finally pulled himself together enough to speak.

"Hey, guys…"

Before I could react, some of Bora's men moved in. Me and Natsu were completely surrounded and while I was busy trying to avoid all of their grabbing hands, Natsu was being kicked into the ground—literally. He couldn't fight back at all with his sickness and laid face down on the ground. Breaking free of the crowd, I set my eyes on Bora.

"Natsu, why don't you let me handle this one for now." I said calmly. "Flare—"

The deck swayed beneath my feet, distracting me. The men on the deck stopped moving too and their attention was focused on something that wasn't on the ship. Hazarding a glance, I paled when I saw the huge wave rushing towards us; a tidal wave. Suddenly I felt fear jump into my heart as the ship was swept up in the wave. It was like the ship had slammed into a wall of concrete and I felt my feet leave from beneath me.

The air swirled around me, knocking away my own breath and causing my stomach to churn. I could have sworn that the ship itself had done a barrel roll in the process. But then as quickly as it came, it all stopped. The ship was left motionless and on its side, but wasn't sinking into water. We were back on the beach. Jumping back onto my feet, my legs wobbled and I managed to clear away from the ship before tumbling over face first into the sand.

My stomach felt so bad.

This was probably what Natsu felt like on the ship too.

"Ugh…" I groaned. Faintly, I could feel a burst of heat coming from behind me closer towards the ship. I heard Lucy cry out in shock before hearing Natsu's voice bellowing out across the beach. He was already jumping headfirst into the fight with Bora. Rolling over onto my back, I saw the backs of Bora and his men. They were facing the deck and further in the distance, Natsu was standing on top of the beached ship.

Natsu looked like he was about to use his fire dragon roar.

Realizing that, I sprang up onto my feet and sprinted like a madman away from Natsu right as a destructive whirl of fire descended on Bora and his crew. "Don't get me caught up this too!" I cried as I tried moving faster, and it wasn't a moment too soon. I got out of range just as a torrent of fire swallowed up part of the beach behind me.

Bora had launched himself into the air using his magic again.

And his back was turned towards me.

I felt a sly grin cross my lips. Natsu wasn't going to have all the fun in this fight. Propelling myself from the sand with a small burst of my own magic, a burst of adrenaline flooded through me as the air whipped by my face. "Solar Strike!" I shouted. Hearing me, Bora turned too late as my fist collided with his back. My punch sent him reeling towards Natsu.

Landing on top of the rubble of the ship, the grin on my face became even wider. "Awesome." I snickered to myself.

"Finn!" I heard Lucy's voice calling me. Glancing down, I could see her and Happy standing on the opposite side of the ship. Not hesitating, I jumped down towards them. My feet sank back into sand causing me to stumble, but I regained my footing. Emanating from behind me, a faint glow from the two dueling wizards' fire magic could be seen.

Lucy stopped beside me, her eyes focused on my face.

"You're in Fairy Tail too?" she asked speechlessly.

Rubbing some sand off of my cheek, I realized that my guild mark had become exposed. My focus had been lost when the ship was struck by the tidal wave, causing the magic to be canceled. "Yeah. And I would have said something earlier, but you never asked." I offered.

"Just…" Lucy started, her attention now on Natsu. "Wow. I never expected for this to happen."

"Natsu's dragon slayer magic is pretty cool, huh?" I agreed as I watched him fight Bora. "But he can get kind of carried awa—"

"—Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

I stopped speaking and much to my horror, I watched as Bora was hurled in through what I recognized as one of Hargeon's main streets. A trail of rubble was left in the wake of Natsu's fire punch attack and in the distance a bell could be heard chiming with Bora having collided with it. Lucy distracted me and now I had just witnessed Natsu destroying part of the town.

"Crap." I mumbled to myself.

"That was amazing…But he over did it!" Lucy said in shock.

My eyes flickered over to her before landing on Happy.

"Alrighty then," I said quickly. "Happy, I'm taking my leave. I've got my stuff to retrieve and the town army to avoid, so I'll see you guys back at the guild!" Without waiting for a response, I turned heel and bolted off in the direction of the park.

"Wait, Finn!" I heard Lucy cry out.

People in the streets were in a panic; some of the buildings in the distance had caught fire and were slowly burning, obscuring the air with smoke. Covering my mouth, I passed by what looked like the town hall before I heard a groan. Stopping for a moment, I glanced over one of the bushes to see a swath of purple fabric sitting on the top.

Pursing my lips, I hurried over and grabbed a hold of it; it was Bora's cape and the man himself was lying beneath it in the bushes. He must have fell from the bell tower and looked incredibly dazed. Bora's eyes opened and he stared at me for a second while I pondered something in my mind.

"Y-you" he began.

"—Your cape is mine!" I declared, snatching up the fabric.

Natsu had his autograph, but now I had his cape; my own personal trophy from this mission, and I was going to remember it forever.

Hearing the shouting of who I assumed were guards behind me, I turned away from Bora continued my desperate run. Next time, I was going to make sure that I brought a magic bag with me to store my stuff in. Hiding it was turning out to be a major inconvenience. With the cape in hand, I made it to the park and gathered my things from the hiding spot before heading for the train station.

* * *

…

Natsu and Happy didn't leave Hargeon by train.

I found that out after I nearly missed the train myself. It was the last one leaving for the night that hadn't been affected by the commotion in the town. In fact, just as it was pulling out of the station when I arrived and I leaped for the back end of the train. That wasn't one of my safest ideas, but getting ahold of the back rail, I pulled myself in.

That was how I arrived back in Magnolia before midnight somehow, and ahead of Natsu, Lucy, and Happy. Now I was walking down the street heading towards the cathedral; my apartment was on the other side of it across the bridge and it felt like it was miles away. It was a good thing too that it was dark out. That way there weren't many people who could judge my disheveled appearance.

I was still wearing the purple dress from earlier, my hiking boots on underneath it and my curly brown hair sticking out in odd directions. My yellow jacket and black cargo pants were wedged under my arm along with Bora's cape that smelled of nasty cologne. I myself probably smelled of burnt ash.

With soreness kicking in and a new wave of fatigue washing over me, I was beginning to debate my own involvement in the things to come. Traveling with Natsu to Hargeon seemed like a lot of effort on my part; trying to watch out for the story and everything and keep things in as much order as possible. But I couldn't change things for now. As soon as a certain celestial spirit was out of harm's way, I would be free then to do what I wanted…at least I hoped.

"Too much destruction for my taste." I grumbled to myself. All I knew was that in that moment traveling around with Natsu and the rest seemed like a huge amount of responsibility that I didn't want to commit to right now.

After all, it wasn't like I had majorly screwed up anything yet, right?

"Aren't you worse for wear." A snide voice commented.

"Hm?" I responded blearily with a yawn. "Oh. Hi, Laxus. I was already thinking the same exact thing actually. It's kind of hard to look decent when stuff is exploding everywhere."

"Hmph." Laxus responded as he continued walking, brushing right by me.

I managed to talk to Laxus on and off so far. Each time he always came across as either rude or arrogant. Despite that, however, I found myself drawn to him. I was trying my hardest to create some sort of semblance of a friendship with him, but I didn't think I was getting anywhere. Whether it was because deep in my mind I was still reminded of Yuri or because I wanted to change the outcome of the battle of Fairy Tail, I wasn't sure.

Laxus did have a habit of brushing people off and disregarding them though which was making it ten times harder.

"I take it you're off on another job?" I asked curiously as I turned around to follow him.

"That's none of your concern. Why don't you run home?" Laxus suggested without even looking at me.

See? That was what he tended to do most of the time.

"Well, alright then Thunderboy." I retorted finally turning back around. "Have fun taking down that monster or overrunning a dark guild—on second thought, I'm sure it isn't anything interesting anyhow. Carry on."

"And you consider 'interesting' the destruction of towns?" He asked smugly. "Any wizard worth his salt could do better than that."

"So news of Hargeon already reached the guild, huh?" I concluded. "For the record, that was all Natsu. I always happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

But I knew what was going to happen.

"Like with Erza?"

I spun around; Laxus was staring at me with a challenging smirk.

"Geez, don't even bring that up" I said in exasperation. "I'm still not even sure what happened. You know what? Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"As I thought. You are the same as the rest of them."

Fight me.

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "It wouldn't be worth my time. Ask me when you've reached S-class and then maybe I'll consider your offer." He said haughtily.

"I said that aloud, didn't I?" I rubbed the back of my head and looked away. "This is what happens when I function on only four hours of sleep for two days and—you're already gone. Cool."

While I was talking, Laxus had already disappeared leaving me alone in the middle of the empty street.

Jerk.

Well, at least I had made some sort of progress that day. Lucy was in the picture now so things were going to start moving ahead. I just didn't know if I was ready yet. Sleep for now was probably the best thing I could do; worrying never got me anywhere. Maybe I would talk with Reedus in the morning.

I just needed to do something that wasn't planning or magic related for once.

* * *

 **Extra #1**

 **How Finn Met Erza**

Pushing open the doors, my nose was met by the sweet smell of pastries and fresh coffee. I didn't hesitate with walking into the café one bit; along with the enticing smells, the small shop was bright and welcoming. From what I could see, the only other people in it besides myself was the thin old woman behind the counter and two customers sitting at a table tucked in the corner.

It was quaint, but this had to have been one of the most ordinary places a job has ever sent me. The task I had taken on was to retrieve one of the café's renowned cakes. The reward for completing the job wasn't great, but the main reason I chose to go was because I had heard a lot of people mentioning it.

And now that I was there, I was worried that I would end up buying the entire store; it smelled incredible.

"What can I get for you dear?" The frail lady asked politely.

Walking up to the counter, I smiled.

"I'm here to pick up a cake. It's a strawberry lemon swirl under the name Arnott."

"I'll be right back."

The lady disappeared from sight into what I assumed was the shop's kitchen. Digging my fingers into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the money I needed and my eyes began to drift to the other desserts on display in the window. That was when I started to overhear the odd conversation that the only other two people in the room were having. Taking a quick glance at them, I could see a type writer sitting between them with papers spread out over the table.

"So this is what I have so far for the next chapter. What do you think?"

"Looks good." The guy sitting on the left commented before pausing. "Wait, I found something. You forgot to capitalize Finn's name in this sentence."

What?

Raising an eyebrow, I did a double take in their direction. That was when something unexpected happened.

"Move out of the way!" A masculine voice called.

I whirled back around to face the counter in time to see a man with a black hair diving over it and nearly running me over in the process. Luckily, I stepped out of the way in time…or maybe I wasn't so lucky.

"Stop thief! This atrocity of yours is a crime against all cakes!" A strong voice rang out.

Without me seeing, someone else managed to slam right into me, sending me flying into one of the tables with a crash. Tilting my head upside down from the broken table, I looked just in time to see a flash of red disappear out the door. I knew that the second voice sounded familiar. Out of all the places I could have met her, Erza Scarlet just happened to be out on a job in the same place I was.

At a small café that had…cakes.

Of course.

Coming back to my senses, I bolted out the door after them. I caught up to them just in time to see that Erza had the man practically pinned with his back against a solid brick wall. She had a sword drawn in her hands and it was pointed directly at the man who was holding his arms up in defense. "Now, what should your punishment be for trying to sabotage those cakes?" Erza asked calmly.

"You're insane, lady!" I could hear the man cry.

I watched with awe and then shock when Erza raised her sword high. Moving at incredible speed, she brought the sword down over the man in precise motion. My shock disappeared when I realized the man was unharmed…however, I started to laugh when all of the man's clothes except for his boxers fell to the ground, sliced up in ribbons.

That was my first encounter with Erza Scarlett.

…

"So you're a new member of our guild?" Erza asked as she opened up the door to the café.

"Yeah!" I answered plainly as I walked in behind her. Suddenly, I found myself colliding with her armored backside; she had stopped completely and seemed to be staring at something. "What are you…" I peered out from behind her to see something that my eyes couldn't believe.

The whole entire shop looked practically turned inside out. Instead of only the one table being destroyed, all of the booths were completely trashed and the windows at the front of the store shattered, something that I failed to notice while we were walking back. It was as if the area had become a warzone.

"How the hell…" I muttered in disbelief.

"This situation could have been avoided if you just paid more attention to your surroundings." Erza then scolded as she walked over to the counter. There, the old lady had reappeared and was standing as if everything was normal.

"But…" I started wordlessly. "Hang on, there were two people in here though—you know, the writers? They could probably vouch for me that I didn't do this! I only took out one table, I swear!" I ran after her. It felt like somebody had set this up on purpose, but I couldn't figure out who, how, or why.

Stopping at the counter, Erza turned to me, a skeptic look in her eyes.

"You do know that we were the only customers in here, right?"

"What?"

That was when the old lady behind the counter spoke up.

"Oh, I wouldn't pay any mind. This old café's known for its ghosts, you know. Or maybe those two writers were a figment of your imagination. Perhaps you are insane. We may never know. Haha!"

Erza and I just stared at her.

"What?" I asked again.

"Perhaps she is insane." Erza observed.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

And to this day, I still had no idea what the hell had happened. What I did know, however, was that I ended up having to pay a massive repair bill and that made me cry. On the bright side, I got to sit down and eat some cake with an S-class wizard afterwards.

* * *

...

Author's Note: So...this turned out to be a much longer chapter than I thought. A lot of stuff happened in it so what can I say? There was also quite a bit of humor thrown in too. This story has finally reached the start of Canon and things are going to start rolling, but not all of it will end up the same. Some events might happen a little differently and the dialogue will also be altered.

And I've got a shout out for **grifman275** for the idea of Finn recreating solar beam! It'll definitely be a handy spell for Finn later on. I figured I would also respond some of the guest reviews down here. In response to **Aufheben** : I believe that your assumption is correct! What Makarov was going to say is indeed related to the newer chapters of the manga. In response to **Guest:** Yep, Finn has forgotten about the Oracion Seis. It's going to be a drag for her later on when she finally does remember, but her memory isn't perfect.

Thanks to my beta **Shadowjab17** for the help and thank you to my reviewers, your feedback is really appreciated! And thank you to all of my readers out there. I can say that since I began writing fanfiction about a year ago, my writing has improved considerably and I owe a lot of it to you all!

As per the usual, fell free to leave a review with any comments, questions, or concerns. I'll try to answer them as best I can.

until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Odd Job**

* * *

...

Lucy's arrival at the guild had been just as comical as it was in the real story with Natsu practically smashing the front door down and initiating a fight. I actually looked over my shoulder in time to see Natsu plant his foot in the same man's face as he did in the anime; I think his name was Krov. "You lied about that Salamander!" Natsu's accused loudly. "I'm going to kick your butt!"

"Don't get mad at me, I'm not the one to blame here! I'm just passing along a rumor I heard!" Krov fired back.

"It was just a rumor?!"

"You wanna fight?"

"Let's go!"

With a resounding crash, Natsu went at Krov again, this time wrecking through half of the guild. That in turn got everyone else riled up. Elfman started shouted and I even saw Gray start to charge forward. Turning around, I started to laugh at the entire scene. Cana, who was sitting beside me at the bar, glanced at me in confusion before sighing. Turning to look at the mess herself with a glass of wine in hand, she spied Gray and decided to speak up. "Gray, your clothes." She said casually. Cana picked up on something that I didn't notice; Gray had already stripped down to his underwear again.

"Whaaa?! I don't have time for that!" I heard him squawk .

"That's why I don't date any of the men here. None of them have class." Cana said to me in dismay as she reached for her usual barrel, setting aside her glass.

I snorted.

"I can agree with that one." I agreed, brushing aside her own un-lady like actions. But Cana was Cana that way.

"Oh dear, I think we should help her out." Mira finally spoke up after noticing a dazed Lucy standing in the center of the chaos. Mira had been passing out some drinks before the fighting began and I was surprised that she had made it back to the bar unharmed. Putting the tray down on the counter, she began to walk back into the mess.

"Let me come with you." I volunteered. Getting up out of my own seat, I figured that I might as well get moving before something gets fired in my direction, be it a person or…a barrel. I can't count how many times that had happened. It was like someone was out to get me with those, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Cana threw one once...Not that I saw, but when there are plenty of empty barrels around…You get the point.

Mira already made it out to Lucy by the time I maneuvered my way over to the blonde mage. She had a stunned look on her face as she spoke with Mira. I couldn't hear what they were saying with all the noise, but I had an idea of the words they exchanged. Lucy's eyes glanced behind Mira to see me and began to wave a hand frantically as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

And then Elfman plowed right into Mira, with Lucy shrieking at the sight.

"Don't die Mirajane!" I could hear her panic.

"Heya Lucy!" I called out loudly behind her.

Shooting me a worried glance, Lucy began speaking. "Finn! What should we—Gaahh!" And that was a minor detail I forgot about. Natsu had sent Gray flying and he knocked Lucy right over. Reacting fast, I bolted over by her side and helped her up, but right as she was about to say something else, Gray cut her off…

Completely nude.

That was another thing I forgot.

"Excuse me miss, could I please borrow your underwear?"

"Okay, that crosses the line!" I shouted, jumping to her defense. I blindly threw a punch in his direction as I covered my eyes. My fist managed to land a solid hit, sending him flying.

"I would have done that for you had you waited one second." Loke said popping up behind me. I could see a gleam in his eye as he turned his full attention to Lucy and his flirtatious attitude kicked in full throttle. "How insensitive can these jerks be? After all—"

"Real men speak with their fists, Loke!" Elfman said launching a fist at his face, propelling him across the room.

"Hey, that's rude—" I didn't get to finish my sentence.

A barrel mulled me over.

A barrel.

Lucy cried out in shock and in the blink of an eye, I was swept clean off my feet and right into the bar beside Cana. The accursed object was still in-between my arms as a strangled groan escaped my lips. Natsu was laughing in the distance. "Haha! You're like a magnet for those!" He jeered. Lifting my head, I looked at him with an unamused expression before chucking the barrel aside. Putting her own barrel aside, Cana reached over and helped me back up to my feet.

"Alright, that's enough you guys. Time to knock it off." She announced calmly as she pulled out her cards.

And she wasn't the only one with the same idea.

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Aaaugh!"

"You punks can be such a nuisance."

"I'm ready for ya!"

Natsu and Gray were preparing attacks of their own and Loke had his ring ready. Elfman too had already transformed his arm into stone. The amount of tension that was in the guild spiked at that very moment, right before Makarov's voice interrupted. "That's enough, you fools! Quit bickering like a bunch of children!" It resonated through the guild, causing immediate silence. The ground rumbled as Makarov's giant form seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. Everyone froze in place, looking up at him; everyone except Natsu, that is. And as soon as he got smashed into the ground by Makarov's foot, I was the one laughing.

Lucy's floundered expression made me sober up slightly, but the amused grin on my face remained.

"So…it seems we have a new recruit." Makarov's voice boomed.

"Uh, yes sir!" Lucy answered apprehensively.

"A bit theatrical, don't you think?" I whispered to Cana.

"He's got the girl shaking in her boots." Cana agreed, the same idea in her mind.

Said girl continued to look on in shock even as the old guild master shrank back down to his normal size. "Nice to meet ya!" He said cheerfully to her.

"This little guy's really in charge here?!" Lucy asked in disbelief.

"Of course he is!" Mira said sweetly, ignoring Lucy's blatant insult. "Allow me to introduce the Fairy Tail guild master, Makarov!"

Turning away from the two girls, Makarov leaped. After performing an ungraceful backwards summersault into the railing on the second floor of the guild, he regained his composure and held out a stack of papers in his hands. "You've gone and done it again!" He snapped loudly. "Just look at all the paperwork the council has given this time!" That was when he started running through a long list of complaints coming from the council. Mindlessly I smiled as he read off each one.

"Gray. Good job with wiping out that smuggling organization, but you wandered around town naked afterwards and stole underwear that was being dried." Makarov said in a huff.

"But wouldn't it be worse if I was naked?"

"Don't do it in the first place." Elfman grumbled in response to Gray.

"Elfman, you had an escort mission in which you assaulted the VIP. Finn," Makarov then stated candidly. "You've unfortunately received a charge for flashing the guards in the village of Bluebell."

Huh?

His words lingered in my mind for a second before I felt the weight of a lot of eyes fall on me.

"Sheesh! When you say it that way you're making it sound like I stripped in front of them!" I said with my cheeks burning. Why did the council decide to report on that? It was a minor thing that happened a little over two weeks ago. Beside me I could hear Cana snickering; the brunette had a hand clapped over her mouth as she fought back her laugh. "Canaaaaa!" I whined in frustration. He worded his sentence that way on purpose.

"And Cana Alberona." Makarov interrupted. "Drinking fifteen barrels of alcohol and then charging it to the Council."

"So they found out about that…" She said quietly.

"Ha!" I said pointing a finger at her victoriously. "And about time too!"

"And Natsu," Makarov sighed in exasperation. "You destroyed the Devon Thief family but also destroyed several other houses in the town, leveled a historic clock tower in Tully Village, burned down a church in Freesia, damaged a part of Lupinus castle, collapsed an observatory, and destroyed half of Hargeon's port." My own embarrassment fading fast, I nodded my head and felt impressed. Out of everyone there, Natsu had the biggest list of complaints. The funny thing was that he had mentioned some of those jobs to me.

Makarov continued the run down on his list, and nearly everyone in the hall came to have the same mirrored, ashamed expression on their faces. Until Makarov decided to cut it short. "—to heck with the Magic Council!" He announced. The stack of papers in his hands burst into flame and he threw them with Natsu snapping them up in his mouth with a practiced jump. "Now listen up. Any power that surpasses reason still comes from reason, right? Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power."

As he continued speaking, we all listened raptly. Hearing it myself, I smiled. Makarov's little speech couldn't help but bring up nostalgia for me; every spoken word was familiar, and I was certain that it was exactly the same as in the anime. "It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization."

Definitely nostalgia.

"If all we care about is following rules, then our magic can never progress. Don't let those on the council scare you, follow what you believe in. Cause that's what makes the Fairy Tail guild number one!" Makarov fiercely proclaimed. The guild hall erupted into cheers at the end of his speech, throwing up their hands as well. It was a small nudge at my shoulder that drew me out of my reverie.

"Hey, you've got a look on your face. Everything okay?" Cana asked with a hint of concern.

"Hmm?" I said, my eyes meeting hers. "Who me? I'm fine!"

I had done pretty well so far with keeping the changes to a minimum, but after this I knew that things were going to start getting tricky.

"Now come on, I've got to introduce you to someone!"

I might as well take it head on.

* * *

…

"I can't believe it, I'm a member of Fairy Tail!" Lucy said showing me her new guild mark on the back of her hand.

"That's great." I said honestly. "Maybe we can go on a few jobs together in the future."

As soon as I introduced Cana to Lucy, the brunette wandered off claiming she had a small job to complete. Natsu had begun to chow down on food alongside Happy and I was standing beside Lucy, silently pondering what to do next. I already knew that Lucy and Natsu would go after Macao at any minute; he had been gone before I even arrived back at the guild. After that I recalled there was another job about retrieving a book. With everything else I was doing before, I didn't see any reason why I needed to tag along. They wouldn't need my help and I was probably going to be bored out of my wits.

"Natsu, look!" Lucy said trying to show the pink haired mage her hand.

Turning away from the two, I made my way over to the request board and began to look it over. How was I going to pass the day by this time around? There were plenty of monster hunting quests, though I had only been on two. Some were about taking down bandits while others requiring thievery. The list seemed to grow on and on. That was when a picture caught my eye, but it wasn't something on the request board. Laying open on the edge of the bar was a newspaper; the front picture was a sketch of a familiar figure. Tall and cloaked, with the title beneath it asking a single question: Ghost?

It was the masked man.

Reaching over, I picked up the paper and began reading it. Since the encounter in Era, I had heard things on and off about a masked figure. Each time I had a gut feeling that it was the same culprit and I felt my curiosity pique. This time it was a sighting a little south and some people had gone missing. It was in the mountains to the west of Era.

My eyes narrowed.

Most of those sightings were somewhere near Era, whether it was on the opposite side of town or an hour away. Maybe while Lucy and Natsu were busy, I could occupy my own time searching for answers on this guy. There was never any mention of him in the series; not in the manga or anime.

Making up my mind, I put down the paper.

"Hey, I'm going to head out for a bit." I announced. Makarov was sitting in his usual spot smoking on his pipe while Mira was putting things away behind the counter. She was the first to speak up.

"Not on a job this time?" Mira asked as she wiped down a mug. "Where are you going?"

"I'm thinking the mountains southwest of Era. Might be three days or so." I offered. I could hear Makarov bite down on the pipe suddenly. My eyes flickered over to him and I waited for him to say something.

"This idea didn't happen to arise from that newspaper, did it?" He questioned suspiciously. When I didn't respond right away, Makarov lowered the pipe from his mouth. "I don't know what you are planning, but going after a masked serial killer is dangerous."

"And I'll be careful. I'm just doing some information digging; some reconnaissance." I answered defensively. "The man has caused eight people to go missing. None of them were wizards of course. Besides, I'm also taking a break from the normal job routine; a vacation maybe."

Makarov sighed.

"Then do what you will. But," he said stopping me before I could walk away. "I expect you to be back in exactly three days."

"Gotcha." I replied with a mocking salute. Turning heel, I began to walk out and passed by a tearful looking Romeo who was heading straight for Makarov. He was really worried about his father. Something I missed, however, was the words exchanged by Mira and Makarov.

"If you are worried, master, why not stop her from going?"

Makarov shook his head in response before speaking to himself.

"I can't stand by on this. It seems I might have to ask."

Making it back to my apartment, I grabbed a small bag and took a final look at the photograph on my nightstand. Bidding Nina farewell, I left the small building behind and started walking for the train station. That was when I saw Natsu further down the road and heading away from the guild. Close on his tail was Lucy. A sudden thought popped into my head and I found myself running to catch up to her. Putting a hand on her shoulder, I stopped the girl.

"You guys are going after Macao, right?" I asked knowingly. "Be watchful for those Vulcans out there. They can use Take Over magic to possess people. Oh, and keep an eye on Natsu too. He can be a bit…rash sometimes." I figured I might as well give them some sort of warning. I kind of felt bad about Macao and wanted to help in some way. Perhaps a warning might help minimize the damage he would sustain.

"You didn't want to come along?" Lucy asked.

I shook my head in response. "I trust that Macao is in good hands. I also have something else that I needed to look into."

"Okay. Then we'll see you when we get back!"

"And Lucy." I spoke again. "You should take this with you." Shrugging off my jacket, I handed it to her. "Just please make sure it gets back to me in one piece."

"Thanks, but it's the middle of summer. I don't think I'll need it." Lucy said as she tried to hand it back.

"Actually, you'd be surprised. Mt. Hakobe is going to be a little cold, even in the summer. Trust me, you'll need it." I smiled. "Now get going. Otherwise you might get left behind."

I think I just took pity on Lucy; that was why I handed her my yellow jacket. Looking at her was making me cold and recalling what Mt. Hakobe was like caused me to shudder. Suffering in the cold was not fun. But the mountains outside of Era were better; Warrod had mentioned them before and about its dense forests and sprawling lakes.

"Ah! You're right!" Lucy said jumping in surprise. "Thanks Finn!"

"Don't mention it!" I called after her. With my jacket slung over her shoulder, Lucy rushed to catch up with Natsu and Happy. Thankfully, they were still within sight. Looking back over her shoulder, Lucy sent me another wave and I continued on my way.

* * *

…

"You're from Fairy Tail? Are you here to help us with our problem?" An elderly man asked with a hint of desperation laced in his voice.

"Problem? I actually came here to search for some answers." I said confusedly. "Someone, actually." My small excursion had gone well so far. I journeyed safely out of Magnolia and made it all the way past Era to the mountains. Nothing suspicious happened the entire time and I was beginning to question if it would be a waste of my time. Stumbling across a small settlement in the mountain's foothills came as a surprise.

Then again, I never exactly studied the location's map that closely. It appeared to be a small fishing village that depended heavily on the river flowing around it. Apparently something had been devouring the fish—something huge. As soon as I set foot inside of the place, one of its inhabitants caught sight of my guild mark and rushed me over to the village elder's hut.

"No, we sent out a missive a while back. You have to be here to deal with that monster in the lake—that thing!" He pleaded. "Someone already went up there a day earlier and he hasn't returned."

"Who?" I pressed.

"I'm not really sure…" The elder trailed off in thought. "He had an odd voice and wore a dark cloak. A rather unusual fellow."

Dark cloak.

Maybe I wasn't too far off the mark.

But why would he be interested in helping people?

"So he went up about a day ago?"

"Yes. He insisted that he could take care of the problem, that he was a rather competent wizard. Before any of us could do anything, he bolted up the road. This has been going on for almost a month. If something isn't done soon, we'll lose much more than just revenues."

"Then I'll look into it." I said reassuringly. "I'll find some way to help out." That was what I knew Mavis and the rest would do, and I would be no different. The fact that the masked man might be out there as well was an added bonus…but that part felt too good to be true.

There had to be something more to it.

"The sun will be setting in a few hours. If you want, we can make you some accommodations for the night. It would be unwise to fight in the dark."

I smiled.

"Thank you for your concern, but I also wanted to try and find our mysterious friend. The longer we wait, the greater the risk of losing him becomes. Which direction is the lake?" The frail old man led me out of his hut and accompanied by an aide we walked a few minutes outside of the fishing hamlet. A narrow dirt road stretched out before us, winding through the trees and out of sight.

"An hour down this path, and you'll find the lake." He said pointing a shaky finger. "Please, be careful."

Heeding his warning, I set off down the bumpy trail. Overhead the skies were gray, with the clouds intermingling with an orange hue from the sun. A soft breeze teased the leaves on the trees, making me shiver slightly; I wasn't cold, but wearing a light t-shirt was significantly different from the weight of my usual attire. My black cargo pants were also starting to look a little ratty.

At least my hiking boots were being put to good use.

A few minutes into the walk, the path had changed several times. Most of it was uphill, but it took several dips. My legs were burning quite a bit, even with all of the training I put myself through. A few birds were chirping in the trees above and everything appeared calm and serene. Losing myself to wandering thoughts, I quickly zoned out as I went. It was only when I heard sniffling that I came back to attention.

Silently, I berated myself for being so careless. I was hunting after a murderer who gave even Rune Knights trouble and I was spacing out. Slowing to a stop, I glanced around cautiously and tried to narrow down the source of the noise. It was almost echoing off the trees, making it hard to tell where it was coming from. From what I could tell though, whatever it was wasn't evil. Not in the slightest. Shaking off the unease that had crept into my system, I pushed forward.

"Hello?" I called out.

The sniffling stopped, followed by the sound of a gasp. A tree branch snapped off to the side of the path, and I shifted with my eyes staring intensely in the noise's direction. Then something I least expected to see appeared; a small blotch of maroon red. It was a cat.

No.

An exceed.

He came running out of the shrubs beneath the canopy of trees and charged towards me. The cat was wearing a familiar blue vest. Before I could react, the exceed reached me and grabbed onto my leg.

"Please!" He croaked out. "Please help him!"

"Help who?" I asked softly, kneeling to the ground. I already had a slight idea who he was talking about though, but I couldn't help but wonder…why?

The exceed before me was Lector.

Sting Eucliffe's exceed.

Lector looked up with uncharacteristic tears blurring in his eyes. Taking hold of my hand, he tugged on it. "Hurry! Don't just stand there!" Trying to pull me along with him back the way he came, I followed. I could hear a groan and the cat let go of my hand and rushed behind a thick tree. "I found help! Sting? Sting! Can you hear me?!"

Of all the people I could have run into, I somehow stumbled across Sting Eucliffe? What was his life like even before Sabertooth? I hadn't a clue. Thinking fast, I hid my guild mark and ran towards the tree. Looking around the corner, my eyes widened when I saw a small kid lying down at the base of the tree. There was a black cloak shoved under his head and his eyes were closed, a nasty gash above his right brow.

Sting was just a…kid. That was something that never crossed my mind. He was only around Natsu and Gray's age _after_ the events at Tenrou Island. Pushing that to the back of my mind, I hurried over and bent down to check his pulse. The boy stirred slightly and I released a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding. "What happened?" I asked.

"It was my fault!" Lector admitted shamefully. "I convinced him to try and fight the fish monster. I—he…"

"Hey, he'll be fine." I said clapping a hand down on his head. Turning my head to look back at Sting, I continued. "It just looks like he's exhausted." That was the only thing I could guess by looking at him. And then, to add to my own diagnosis, a low growl reached my ears and Sting shifted in his position. "And…hungry?" I asked in bewilderment.

Lector's stomach growled too and he looked away.

"I suppose it is dinner time." I said thoughtfully. "Why don't you two wait here? I'll be back before you know it."

* * *

…

My new camping skills came in handy, even if I was a bit out of practice.

After about ten minutes, I had cleared away a small pit for a fire with a few mushrooms and odd berries stacked up on the side along with a small rabbit. Sting was still out cold, but I put a thin blanket over him and patched up his cut with some disinfectants and butterfly strips; those were the things I brought with me in my pack with the dagger. Fiddling with the silver pendant around my neck, I waited patiently for the fire to catch.

Lector didn't seem to want to leave his side.

"Hey, Sting will be okay. As soon as the rabbit hits the fire, he'll wake up soon enough."

The cat looked at me and sighed.

"How are you two all the way out here by yourselves?" I asked curiously. "Not every day you come across a kid and a cat wanting to fight some monster." It wasn't hard to tell that Lector was trying to keep his distance. All of his focus had been on Sting the entire time and he tried not to look at me much.

As it should be.

"What, you're not going to scold us? Or laugh? Most people do." Lector finally spoke up.

"Why would I?" I responded looking back to the fire. Picking up some sticks, I skewered pieces of the rabbit and the edible mushrooms, placing them over the fire.

"We heard about the monster and thought it would be a way to prove our strength." Lector mumbled. "That fish has more of a bite than I do though…"

"From what I can tell, you two look young to be going around by yourselves. I'm pretty impressed by that, but isn't there someone who takes care of you guys?"

Lector shook his head.

"We don't need someone to babysit us." He snorted indignantly. Taking a skewer off the fire, I cut one open. Seeing that it was fully cooked, I offered the cat one. He merely shook his head and tried to ignore the noise coming from his stomach.

"You asked for help and you got it. And I'm not here to babysit anyone." I put the stick in his hands and took a bite into my own, cringing a little at the meat's taste. "If anything, I came out here to try and find a man in the mask. When I heard about a black cloak I had to take a look." My eyes darted over to the cloak Sting's head was resting on before I got up from where I was sitting. As I was about to reach out a hand to shake the boy's shoulder, I hesitated for a moment.

"Hey Lector, you should be the one to wake him up. I know that waking up to a stranger in your face isn't exactly comfortable."

Not giving me a response, the maroon cat reached over and tried nudging his shoulder. "Sting. Sting wake up."

He wasn't moving. Thinking for a moment, Lector hovered the skewer near the boy's nose in an attempt to get him to move. "I don't think it's working." He worried. "He used up a lot of magic trying to get us away in one piece."

"Stop worrying, everything is okay. Dragon Slayers don't go down that easy."

"How do you know that Sting's a Dragon Slayer?" Lector questioned suspiciously. He moved a little, positioning his body between me and Sting.

I froze up, realizing what I had just said and bit my tongue.

Why the heck did I say that?

"Don't get me wrong or anything! I'm just sensitive to magic and his feels similar to someone I know." I paused for a second. "Hold on, it wouldn't happen to be light based, would it?"

"You're digging your grave pretty deep, Lady!" Lector hissed defensively.

I slammed my hand into my own head.

"Of course I end up sounding like some stalker. I really ought to keep my mouth shut. Way to go Finn." I berated myself. "Look, it just so happens—"

"L-Lector?" A groggy voice called.

"Sting!" The cat shouted turning his back to me. Placing a paw on the blond boy's shoulder, Lector's voice became shaky again. "You're alright." Sting's eyes opened and he seemed a little disoriented.

"Of course I am." Sting said taking his time to respond. "You know I wouldn't leave you alone."

"Yeah." Lector sniffed. "Yeah I know that. You're too strong to go like that." Sting and Lector shared weak smiles. Wincing, the boy's blue eyes met mine.

"Lector, who is she?" He asked.

"I never did introduce myself, did I?" I started off. "It's Finn…and I think you might have a slight concussion."

Sting squinted his eyes.

"Finn?" he repeated.

"That's me."

Sting's eyes started to close again.

"Whoa, hang on there." I said reaching out a hand. "I guess you're worse than I thought. I helped with the cut, but we're going to have to get back to town."

"But it's getting dark out. Sting can't use his magic, so we'll get lost!" Lector protested. "We should stay here."

"Who said anything about getting lost?" Holding out my hand, I channeled my magic to form a light sphere. Sting's eyes shot back open and Lector's mouth fell.

"You're a wizard too?" Lector said in awe.

"Yes. And it just so happens that my specialty is light magic."

Sting's stomach seemed to rumble louder and a tint of red appeared on his cheeks. Trying to fight back a smile that would embarrass him further, I held out the light to him. "I know a little about how Dragon Slayers work. You can take it if you want." I offered. "It might help you regain a little energy. In fact…" Shutting my eyes, I concentrated. All around us tiny dots of light came into existence, brightening up the darkened woods.

"They look like fire flies." Lector remarked quietly.

* * *

…

Sting perked up somewhat after eating.

Walking back down to the village, the Dragon Slayer held onto my shoulders as he rode on my back. Lector hung off of his shoulder in turn as we made our way down the narrowed path. Tiny dots of light flittered around us, lighting the way. Up until then, I didn't know that I had the strength to carry around a kid who was a little more than nearly half my size.

Silently I wondered what would happen if I continued to interact with both of them. It was never in my plans to run into them, but somehow there I was. There wasn't much of a mention what Sting and Lector did before joining with the Sabertooth Guild and I was almost at a loss. They were adorable too, seeing them a little younger than in the show.

"Your magic tastes different." Sting stated.

"Hm, different how?" I asked as I kept walking.

"It's…" I could practically hear Sting trying to think. "It just is."

"Why thank you." I chuckled.

"You don't think it's weird?" He asked sincerely.

"What? Are you talking about your type of magic? Not at all." I stopped walking and glanced over my shoulder. "You're not bullied by other people, are you?"

"N-No!" He said hastily. "It's because they don't usually believe the things I say. The only one who does is Lector."

Said cat snored from his perch on the boy's shoulder.

"Like your dad being a dragon?" I suggested. "Lector mentioned something about that earlier. Don't worry though, I believe you completely. I haven't seen a living one yet, but I had to fight a skeleton once. It was huge!"

Sting's grip tightened around my shoulders.

"You've fought one?!"

"Hey, settle down back there," I joked. "It's a long story, but me and a couple of old friends had to take it down. Even then we had quite a bit of trouble. Let's see…It was the four of us at the time, and we came across this town." I started to recount to the boy my tale about the blue dragon bones. Of course, I didn't mention Magnolia by name, but I told him about how Mavis and Precht had helped, and about how Yuri had been absorbed by it. Sting was listening to every word I said, and I found myself encouraged by it with every word I spoke.

"How did it end?" Sting asked blearily.

I inhaled softly and exhaled.

"I'm not too sure what to make of it myself," I replied. "But each one of us made it out okay in the end. I suppose that's what really matters." Until shit would hit the fans a few years after. Something happened to Mavis and then Yuri ended up…passing away.

The only response I got from Sting was the sound of even breathing; he had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

Going the rest of the way in silence, I made it back to the village in no time. The first person I ran into was the aid from earlier. He guided me to the doctor they had were I unloaded Sting and Lector off my back. "Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow morning." I told the doctor.

"Fighting a lake monster in the dark isn't that great of an idea." The spectacled man responded curtly. "You can stay in one of the beds here and then leave in the morning."

I hesitated for a moment, listening to his words. "You have a fair point." I agreed. "I'll be out before the sun comes up." I glanced at Sting and Lector out of the corner of my eye.

"Don't worry about the boy. I'll look after him until you get back."

"Thanks."

"Just doing my job."

The doctor left the room and I settled down onto one of the numerous small cots lining the walls. Placing my bag on the ground, I rested my head on my hands and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. I knew that I would need it for tomorrow.

* * *

…

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Gwraaaaaaaurgh!"

The forecast for the next morning was sunny, clear skies—with some showers from a giant eel the size of a small mountain.

Dodging out of the way of its massive tail, I tried to create some space between us. The once placid lake rippled from the monster's motions. It was no wonder why the fish were being eaten up. This big guy was, well, massive. He had to have gotten that way somehow. If I wasn't unnerved before, I was now; I didn't even know how a creature could be so huge!

It hissed again, this time trying to snap me up with it spikey teeth. I retaliated with a Solar Strike only to have my hand bounce off of its thick rubbery skin. Watching it recoil from the impact, it only appeared to become angrier. I was at a huge disadvantage. How was I supposed to attack something that was in a massive body of water? One foot in there and I would be kaput. Top it off with the creature's rubbery skin and I didn't know how to attack.

Reaching for the dagger at my side, I gripped it tightly. Maybe a dagger would be enough to pierce its hide. The monster's tail lashed out again, this time in a sweeping motion along the lake's shore. Anticipating it, I jumped over it and tried slashing at its slimy hide. And it worked.

I gave the beast a paper cut on its tail.

In response to my attack, its tail unexpectedly swung back in my direction. I didn't get out of the way in time. I felt the air rushing by my face as my body careened back a few feet. Precht's dagger flew out of my hands too and I heard it land with a solid thunk in a nearby tree. Not letting another second go by, I leaped back onto my feet and readied another attack.

Holding my hands up near my mouth in a mimic of Natsu's Fire Dragon Roar, I tried reaching out to the sunlight that was around me. I inhaled sharply.

"Solar Beam!"

Releasing the energy I felt, I watched in dismay as only a small ray of light blasted towards the monster. It bounced harmlessly off of its side, but the eel monster took offense to my attack. This time it roared and I covered my ears; it was disorienting and it made it feel like the earth was shaking. Before I could recover from its deafening roar, the ground disappeared from my feet and suddenly I was jerked upward. The next thing I saw was frightening: I realized I was about forty feet above water. Dry land was a good distance away and it would be one heck of a fall.

Jolting me out of my thoughts, the eel violently shook me from side to side, its teeth holding me up by my shirt. I could hear the fabric tearing along with a frantic scream…oh, that was just me. Not even thinking twice about it, I struck at the monster's mouth with magic laced on my fingers. The reaction was immediate and I found myself plummeting downward and into the water. My head broke back above the surface in time to see the shadow of a large tail descending down on top of me. Taking a deep breath I spread out my arms wide just as it hit, forcing me under the water.

Didn't this feel familiar?

Keeping my train of thought, I dug my fingers in as much as I could to the creature's fleshy tail. And as I figured it would, I was pulled again by the tail. The tail reared out of the water, and I used its speed, propelling myself off of it towards dry land.

My feet hitting solid ground, I remained crouched where I was for a second. Breathing heavily, I looked up to observe the eel. It was towering above me now, threatening to come down at any second.

"Tch. I didn't know you were a chew toy." A voice intervened. "Heel."

A bolt of lightning crashed down on the monster's head, sending it reeling. It flailed around for a second before disappearing under the water.

"Oh great. What brings you here, Laxus?" I asked sarcastically. I still felt like I was shaking, but whether it was from adrenaline or from being jostled around I wasn't quite sure. I knew that I was lucky to not have whiplash.

Laxus appeared in front of me in a showy flash. His back was to me, but I could tell his arms were crossed. Smugness just seemed to radiate off of his figure. He didn't say anything in response and I felt miffed about it. Standing back up on my feet a started to approach him when he decided to speak.

"Why don't you stay out of the way and let a wizard handle this job?"

* * *

...

Author's Note: That's it for this one! Sorry not sorry about the cliff hanger. So Finn has unexpectedly run into a young Sting Eucliffe and Lector. She didn't see that coming. I tried to make it interesting for a chapter not following along with the main story and I felt that sending Finn along with Natsu, Lucy, and Happy would have been a bit repetitive. Don't worry though, Finn's definitely going to help out in the Lullaby Arc. Beta: **Shadowjab17**

Any comments, questions, or suggestions? Reviews are always appreciated!

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: The Start of a Lullaby**

* * *

...

This must have been karma for wandering alone.

As a kid my parents always told me to never go anywhere by myself; the buddy system they said. I didn't realize how much it applied to right now. I was at an isolated lake in the middle of the wilderness duking it out with an eel monster that made me feel like an ant. Not my brightest moment, but I thought my reasoning had been sound.

I had thrived off of solo jobs, practically throwing that rule out the window in a heartbeat. Sure, running a job was a lot more fun with friends, but to simply put it I sometimes didn't want to bother. A handful of times I did take someone with me after I got the hang of traveling, like Loke or Cana. But in a world where not everyone used magic and I did, things were looking pretty safe.

I could defend myself just fine…up until now.

At least I had Laxus Dreyar keeping me company.

But I couldn't say if that was a good thing or not.

"Yeah, that one definitely worked. Do it again." I deadpanned.

I was leaning up against a tree a few feet away from Laxus as he was fighting. I retrieved my dagger and had it back at my side once more as I watched. Laxus appeared to be more of a stationary fighter. He didn't make any motion at all to summon his lightning, yet each time the eel moved for an attack it was deflected successfully.

It was like he was taunting it.

Or showing off.

When I tried to help, Laxus just brushed me off like he normally did. I was definitely sour about that. While I was fuming on the sidelines, Laxus decided to make a move, running forward at impressive speed. Right as the monster moved its head in too close, he blindsided it with a powerful fist of lightning.

Tiny sparks flew off of its skin and I got the feeling that it did nothing other than feed the eel's rage. The rubber like texture, I realized, was a huge disadvantage even if the eel was in water. If it were a normal creature it should have been fried over twice already. I was positive that Laxus already realized that. Secretly I felt pleased by the fact.

Breaking out of my thoughts, my heart skipped a beat when I realized an oncoming attack heading in my direction. I dove out of the way in time before the eel's tail smashed down on the tree I was under. "Hey!" I shouted in protest. "Do you think I can help now? This fight has been dragging on for a while!"

"Who said you have to stick around? You'll only get in the way." Laxus replied coolly.

I mentally scoffed at him. As if I was going to run away from a fight like this. Not to mention with Laxus here, I knew that I would never live it down. I flat out refused to be saved by him, therefore I had to fight.

Right as I was about to voice my thoughts to him, the surface of the water beside the eel broke. I had to keep my mouth from dropping open when a second head came up. It howled loudly as if to announce its arrival.

"Two on one is not a fair fight. Don't tell me this thing is like a hydra." I mumbled under my breath. I rushed forward to stand by Laxus. "I don't give a crap about what you think. I've fought along with a lightning user before, so shut up and take it!"

Laxus only responded with a "hmph."

One of the eel's heads came down over us and Laxus again deflected it with his lightning. I quickly followed it up with an attack of my own, pulling out the dagger and forcing my magic through it. Slashing the weapon, I was nearly surprised when an arc of light attacked with it.

"See?" I said trying to play it off.

Both of the heads attacked at the same time, causing us to separate. That was when something fell on my head; it wasn't water. Reaching up, I wiped the droplet off of my brow to discover that it was a vibrant red color. Blood.

My gaze shooting up to look at the head attacking me, I noticed that it looked like one of its teeth had been punched out. I flexed my fingers and realized that I probably did that when it ensnared me in its teeth. Coming up with a theory I shot at the eel's gaping mouth.

"Rain of Light!"

The monstrous eel shrank back with a shriek as some of the rays collided with the pink flesh of its mouth. Sure enough my bet was right on the money, but why didn't I think of that before? How many stories had I seen that a seemingly indestructible monster could be destroyed from the inside?

"Hey, Laxus!" I shouted. "Aim for the mouth!" Currently the lightning wizard was preoccupied by both the tail and the monster's other head. He wasn't even breaking a sweat, but the look on his face told me that he was unamused. That was the only thing I had time to say before the eel used its head again…literally. It plunged its razor sharp teeth at me, and I narrowly ducked out of the way in time.

For something with no arms, it was certainly a pain in the ass to fight.

While I was lost in thought complaining to myself, I made the mistake of taking my eyes off the eel. It managed to grab me by the shirt again, but this time I tried pushing away from the monster with a Flare spell.

"Shit!"

I wasn't getting dragged back out into the water again, but this thing wasn't letting go.

Laxus must have seen the situation I was in; a massive bolt came from out of nowhere striking the beast in its neck. Unlucky for me, however, the head snapped back and threw me into the air. It happened too fast for me to react as a sudden weightless feeling overtook me. And then something odd happened.

The air rushing past my face disappeared and it felt as if time itself had slowed down. I could feel the sun's warmth at my back with how high up I was. Below me, I could see the head that threw me opening its maw and preparing to swallow me whole. Further down, Laxus stood on the lake's shore and I could faintly hear his voice chanting out something.

"Resounding through the air," he started.

Oh yeah, if he was going to use an all-out attack, I should too.

A sinking feeling entered my stomach, and I started to fall again. Bringing my hands up to my mouth, my eyes remained open despite the sting of the wind as I kept my focus on the eel's maw. There was a static feeling in the air, energy rippling around me.

"The roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!"

"Solar Beam!" I cried.

A flash of white and a sparkling glyph appeared before me, with a swirling energy spilling from its center. It was light and then I knew, I finally succeeded in creating the spell; a spell that had taken me a whole month to craft.

A soundless, blinding ray struck out at the same time as a gold flash of light. A resounding crack echoed across the mountain side and I held my breath. Showers of sparks danced around in the air and I finally felt myself dropping faster.

There was a faint buzzing in my head, much like the humming of a bee. My arms were flung out in a free fall and felt numb; they were hard to move. The water below was fast approaching and there was nothing I could do. I felt completely drained.

Empty.

I knew that hitting the lake was going to be like hitting concrete and I had the sneaking suspicion it would feel like the last time I took a dive out of the air. To further the hopelessness of the situation, the eel's limp body was also below and floating limply on the surface of the water. I didn't know which would be worse to land on.

Right as I shut my eyes to brace for impact with the water below, however, my body was snatched from the air. A firm hand was wrapped below my ribcage and I was being carried underarm. Being carried like that was definitely an odd sensation and I was too dazed to voice my dislike of it. And I already knew who it was that saved me.

Laxus's feet landed back on the ground and I found myself being dropped like deadweight. Flinging out an arm in time, I caught myself and was about to say something when I realized I didn't have any words to say. He couldn't act like a regular person, could he? No 'thanks for helping me out' or 'are you okay?'

I was snapped out of my thoughts by droplets of water landing on my face.

It was starting to rain even though there hadn't been a cloud in the sky earlier. Sure enough, the clouds above were dark and rumbling. It was a phenomena created by magic, and I would have been amazed had I not been glaring at Laxus's retreating back.

"If you have something you're dying to say then speak now." Laxus said turning back to look at me. "Or better yet, you're already on your hands and knees, so start thanking me."

Really?

Pushing myself off of the ground, I approached him angrily.

"What is the reason for you acting like this?" I started. "Yes, I get that you showed up and helped me out, so thanks for that. On the other hand I also helped take it down too, so what's with the high and mighty act?"

Laxus snorted.

"You are nothing more than a weakling that got in my way. I still would have taken the monster down either way."

I bit my lip and tried to calm myself down.

"I just…man, I can't believe I thought you were like him before." I said mumbling the last part under my breath. "You have to admit that I did manage to hold my own. For having magic less than two months, I think that's progress."

"That doesn't change a thing." Laxus said in reply. "If you can't handle it, go back to that friend you keep mentioning."

I clenched my fist.

"Seeing you just pisses me off."

"Hm, what was that? I can't hear you." He said mockingly, a smirk on his face.

That was the last straw. Striding over to him, I reached up and yanked on his shirt collar, pulling him down to my level. He complied willingly with the same expression on his face. I wanted to start crying my eyes out right then and there in a fit of rage, but I refused.

I said I wasn't going to cry anymore and this wasn't going to change that fact.

"I said…" I couldn't finish—I just couldn't bring myself to finish. "You know what? I'm not going to stoop to your level."

I let go of his shirt and backed off. The smirk on his face grew wider. It wasn't worth it; he acted like this every time I saw him and nothing made this time different. In time maybe he would act like a decent person but for now I had to accept what he was like. Acting like I did would only make things worse, and I knew that.

Sighing, I felt the strength I got from my anger fade. My legs started to feel like lead and I was freezing with the rain soaking my clothing and my hair. Shivering, I tried wrapping my arms around myself to keep warm. That was when I realized something: I could feel my skin through my shirt.

Unfolding my arms, I looked down and felt my face heat up. My shirt had been torn to shreds and I didn't realize it until now. I was left completely exposed.

And Laxus only seemed to notice it now too.

Gasping, I wrapped my arms around myself once more and I turned away. Behind me, Laxus didn't move or say anything.

"Yeah, I'm in a pretty bad state. Laugh it up while you can thunderboy, 'cause I can't guarantee I won't try to kick your ass for it later." I hugged my arms more tightly against my frame and willed myself to disappear. This was the most embarrassed I had ever been, and nothing that happened at school came remotely close to this.

And in front of a guy whose guts I hated.

Great.

Maybe I would start crying after all.

"Here."

I blinked my eyes and looked over my shoulder. Laxus was standing with a hand outstretched towards me; he was holding out his jacket. Turning around slightly, I found myself looking up at his face out of curiosity. Our eyes met for a second before he turned away. "Do you want it or not?" his voice broke the silence.

Slowly nodding my head, he threw the jacket over my shoulder. I grabbed a fistful of the fur lining and quickly pulled the jacket on. My body shuddered at the sudden change in temperature. It was really warm.

"Thanks." I said finding the words to speak.

"Keh." Laxus responded gruffly. "Save it. I'm getting out of the rain."

I hesitated for a moment before trailing after him.

Maybe deep down, Laxus wasn't as horrible a guy as I thought he was.

* * *

…

The way back down from the lake had been rather silent and, from my perspective, awkward. Back in the village I managed to get a brand new sleeveless shirt that was forest green. That meant I was able to return Laxus's jacket. Right as I was about to head into the doctor's house, I stopped and turned around to look for Laxus.

He was leaving the village, heading for the forested road.

Mustering my strength, I ran after him.

"Hey, are you leaving now?" I asked him. "Did you at least get a reward from the elder?"

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me.

"I only came to fight the giant eel. The reward isn't worth my time. And do us all a favor next time: stay out of my way."

Before I could say anything else, Laxus pulled his usual stunt and vanished from sight in a flash. Shaking my head, I turned around and slowly made my way back to the doctor's, pushing aside any wayward thoughts.

I walked in through the door and as I was about to turn in to the room where Sting and Lector were, I paused and found myself reaching up to my cheek. I still had to cover the guild mark. Focusing, I tried to feel the familiar pull in my gut but instead felt a wave of nausea. Gagging a little, I bent over to catch my breath.

"You've returned." The doctor came. "Is everything alright? Are you ill?"

Waving him off, I stood back up. "I'm fine. Do you have some bandages I can borrow?" I asked.

"Of course. One moment."

Going behind the counter, he dug around before pulling out a small box.

"If you'll excuse me, I have other patients to attend to. Do not hesitate to ask if you need any assistance." I smiled weakly and nodded, watching him go into another room. After securing a bandage over my cheek, I made my way to the room where I last saw Sting and Lector. The two were sitting on the bed talking to one another.

Knocking on the door, I made my presence known.

"Hey, you came back?!" Lector was the first to speak up. "You fought the monster."

"He's won't be bothering anyone anymore." I answered surely. Rather than acting excited at my words, Sting and Lector deflated a little.

"So you beat it, huh?" Sting asked in a defeated tone. "You must be a really powerful wizard then."

"No need for the frowns!" I scolded lightly. "Trust me, in the future there will be tons of fights to be won. You just keep practicing your magic and grow into your shoes a little. Besides, I did have some help in the fight. Who could take on that thing alone?"

Sting perked up slightly.

"What are you going to do now?" Lector questioned.

"I've got to get back home after this. There's going to be quite a bit of trouble heading my way, and I'm sure of it." I admitted.

"So you're leaving?" Sting surmised.

"Yeah. I'm going to head out in a little bit and I figured that I'd say goodbye. Oh, and here, take this." Rifling through the small bag at my side, I pulled out a handful of paper money. It was what I had earned during my last job and a little extra.

"Wha!" Lector shouted in surprise.

"You're giving this to us? Why?" Sting asked honestly.

"Because you need it more than I do, especially if you both are out there traveling on your own." I said placing it in his hands. It was hard to part with the money, but I felt better knowing that it would help them out. Maybe it would give me peace of mind knowing he wouldn't pass out from hunger again. "Who knows, maybe we'll run into each other after this."

I actually wouldn't mind it.

Sting and Lector were kind of…adorable.

With that said, I gave Lector one last pat on his head before heading out the door, leaving the two rendered speechless. That couldn't have gone better even if I planned it. But everything was safe, the story would hopefully remain unchanged with this little event in time. This was probably one of the most interesting things I had done in a while too.

And on top of that, I finally got that spell to work.

Stumbling slightly as I walked, I was stopped by a voice calling out behind me just as I passed the village gates.

"Wait! Ma'am, hold up!"

Turning around, I saw an older man making a mad dash towards me. I recognized him as the village elder's aide. "What can I do for you?" I said spinning around on my heel. The man was out of breath.

"Here, on behalf of Cattail Village the elder wanted to give you this for services rendered in the extermination of the monster Abaia."

I nearly fell over when the man gave me a huge burlap bag.

"Ah." I hesitated. "Thank you. I was just trying to help really."

And what was in the bag?

Taking a look at it while back on the train, I reviewed the bag's contents and couldn't believe my eyes. In it was some wooden fish carvings and fish decorated cloth. Oh, and was also worth mentioning what was probably the largest figure of jewels that I had ever seen before.

Yup.

That was how I learned that this job was S-class.

And if Laxus Dreyar didn't think the reward was worth it, I silently wondered just how much a standard S-class job was worth.

* * *

…

I wasted no time in getting back to Magnolia.

Not even stopping by the guild, I went straight back to my apartment. After I unloaded the bag off of my back, I fell into my bed completely exhausted and fell right to sleep. I didn't take a shower, I didn't change out of my clothes. I was that beat.

It was only when I felt something poking my face that I was woken up from a deep sleep.

Swiping my hand across my face, I mumbled. "Go away." Rolling over, I stuffed a hand under my pillow and tried to continue sleeping. I was sore all over and I could feel it even though I wasn't moving.

"Never mind! She's alive." A familiar, high-pitched voice said. "But why does she smell like a fish?"

I could hear the door to my apartment open.

"Don't you two ever take a hint? It's not right to break into someone's home like this!" Lucy's voice came. "And Happy, don't try to wake her up! It's obvious that she's asleep."

"You need to relax Lucy." Natsu responded from somewhere.

"Well, I'm up now." I said groggily as I opened my eyes. With all of the sunlight washing in through the windows of my small apartment, I squinted my eyes at first before seeing Happy standing on my bed near me. Natsu was sitting with his feet on my table in the kitchen while Lucy looked on in dismay. Both a window and the front door were open, and I already knew who came in through where.

"Good morning Natsu, Lucy, Happy." I greeted with a yawn.

"How long were you asleep here?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Since I got back yesterday." I sat up in my bed, stretching my arms out. There was a headache right in between my eyes and I found myself frowning. "What time is it anyways?"

"Almost noon." Lucy answered. "Anyways, sorry to barge in, but I wanted to return your jacket."

"I appreciate it."

"Oh man, no way!" Natsu shouted. Lucy and I looked at him. He was standing near the coat rack by the front door. His eyes were glued on Bora's purple cape. "I think I know where this is from!" He said with a grin.

Smiling faintly, I turned my attention back to Lucy. "Did you find Macao?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Lucy answered eagerly. "And you'll never guess, but that information you gave me helped a lot! It turns out that Macao was taken over by a Vulcan. I wouldn't have seen the signs otherwise."

"He was a bit banged up, but we returned him to Romeo in one piece." Natsu added happily as he continued digging around my apartment.

"Oh, and it was so freezing!" Lucy griped. "I am so glad that you lent me your jacket. I would have died out there!"

"Shouldn't you be thanking Natsu too? You also stole his blanket and hid inside the clock thingy." Happy commented with a straight face.

"Nobody asked you, stupid cat." Lucy muttered.

"Happy look!" Natsu interrupted. He had already stuck a hand inside of the burlap bag that sat next to my dresser; he was holding up one of the ornate carvings.

"FISH!" Happy clamored. Jumping off of my bed with a pop, the blue cat flew over to Natsu and stared at the statue. He had a hungry look in his eyes like he always did when it came to anything seafood related.

"You can have that if you want. There are a few more anyways." I offered. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry. Who wants breakfast?"

Natsu and Happy jumped at my offer while Lucy took a few seconds to join in. In no time at all, they sat around the small table in my kitchen with stacks of pancakes in front of them; it was one recipe that I could easily recall off the top of my head. Wiping my hands off with a towel by the sink, I pulled up a chair and joined them.

"Thanks for the food!" Natsu and Happy chimed simultaneously. I smiled in response as they immediately started to dig in, bits of pancake flying in odd directions. Beside me, Lucy looked on wide eyed as if to question my sanity of letting them eat in my apartment.

"Don't worry. It'll clean up easy." I reassured her.

"You act like this happens often." Lucy responded.

"No, not at all." I said cheerfully. "I just had a feeling it would be like this. So, did I miss anything else while I was gone? I bet that Romeo was happy to see his dad again."

"Yeah. It felt really good to help someone out like that." Lucy agreed. "Oh! And while you were gone, Natsu and I went to some weird geezer's mansion to steal a book. Let me tell you, that man was awful!"

Already?

I sat back in my chair and listened to Lucy speak. Natsu and Happy continued to chow down while Lucy retold the story about the Daybreak Arc. Coming from Lucy, it sounded a lot more flashy than it actually was; I didn't know if it was because of the writer in her speaking up or because that was how it happened. It could have been either at this point, so I didn't know what to expect.

"So all of this happened in the span of two days since I've been gone?" I questioned as Lucy reached a break in the story.

"Two days?" Lucy reiterated. "I'm pretty sure it's been three since we last saw you."

I paused, putting down the glass of milk in my hands.

"Yesterday was Tuesday, right?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that was when I got back."

"No, yesterday was Wednesday and today is Thursday." Happy said pointedly.

"Don't tell me you were asleep all this time." Natsu said with a mouthful of food. He swallowed. "And here I thought Lucy was a heavy sleeper."

"Hey!" She hissed. Lucy didn't have time to finish when I stood up and walked over to my calendar. If what they were telling me was true, then I had been asleep for a whole day. Sure enough, the dates crossed off didn't add up.

"Oh crap. Really?" I muttered in disbelief before turning back to the three. "Alright, I guess I've got a lot of stuff to do today." I clapped my hands together and kept my face straight.

"That's our cue to leave." Lucy added helpfully.

"Aw, really?" Natsu voiced his disappointment.

"Don't worry, you can take the plates with you if you want." I said. "Right now, I think I need to make up for lost time."

Lost time indeed. I needed to practice magic and who knew how long I had before the next story arc; Lullaby if I remembered correctly. I didn't know how I managed to miss out on Daybreak, but I needed to keep on my toes.

That fight really took its toll.

* * *

…

There were quite a few things that happened within the beginning of Fairy Tail's story. I was pretty sure that a lot of it happened within the span of one month too and the rest up until the month of December. It kind of scared me knowing all of that, and I wanted to make sure that I was as prepared as possible.

"Why don't you stay a while and have a drink?" Cana asked casually.

"I'll pass." I said with a shrug.

"Care to tell us what happened in the days that you were gone?" Loke asked.

I sat at one of the tables closer towards the bar in the guild hall with Cana, Loke, Reedus, and even Gray. Something I had learned about was the friendship that Gray and Loke had. It wasn't something I expected, but it explained why Gray had asked Loke to help him with the S-Class trials.

"Oui." Reedus agreed. "It's not every day the Master worries over someone like that."

I shuddered thinking about it.

"That bad, huh?" Cana assumed.

"Hm? No, no." I said dismissively. "I just ran into a lot of crap that I wasn't expecting and it threw me for a loop. That's all."

"Hey Reedus, may I borrow your light pen?" Mira interrupted.

With a swift answer, Reedus held out his pen to Mira. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her drawing a chart in the air; she was explaining to Lucy how the guilds operated. Turning my full attention to her, I watched Mira and listened closely. This was the first time I ever paid attention to the guild system being explained, but I had an idea of what it was supposed to look like.

And then another thought sank in.

Mira explained the concept of guilds to Lucy right before Erza returned and that meant…

Lullaby was right around the corner.

"Would you just go and pick us a job already?" Natsu said nonchalantly.

Lucy had a peeved look on her face. "You've got to be kidding me. What makes you think I want to do that?"

"Well, we are a team now, aren't we?" Natsu responded.

"Yeah, and we picked the job last time!" Happy accused. "It's your turn to pick, so get to it."

"Just forget it cat. As far as I'm concerned our team has been disbanded. And besides, you guys didn't actually want me. You only needed me last time because I'm a blonde."

"Don't be ridiculous. That's not the only reason." Natsu said seriously before breaking out into an infectious grin. "We picked you 'cause you're so nice!"

"Hey Lucy." Gray spoke up. He had been listening too just as much as I had. "I wouldn't stick with those losers if I were you. You'll get plenty of offers from other teams."

"Your clothes Gray." Cana remarked plainly.

On cue, Gray freaked out and with one snarky statement from Natsu the two were clashing again. Cana shook her head at their antics and I cracked a smile. "Looks like those two are at it again." Happy stated the obvious.

"Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy?" I heard Loke's voice. I noticed in shock that he had left his seat without me noticing. Turning towards Lucy now, Loke already had an arm around her shoulder and was trying to attempt his smooth talking. By the look on Lucy's face, it was easy for anyone to tell she wasn't buying it.

"Girls really fall for this?" She asked skeptically at the end of his rant. Lucy moved away from him slightly and that's when Loke became speechless. After a second, he snapped out of it, and his reaction was epic. Upon seeing the keys at Lucy's waist, Loke acted like he was allergic, backing away in an odd skip.

"You're not a celestial wizard, are you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Huh?" Lucy said cluelessly.

"Yup. She's got cows and crabs and stuff." Happy answered for her.

"Ah! Curse you fate! Why must you toy with me so?" Loke exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but you and I can't be together!" In natural, dramatic flair, Loke bolted away from Lucy as if she were the plague and headed for the door. Making a split decision, I jumped out of my own chair and ran after him.

"What just happened?" I could hear Lucy question.

"Loke!" I called.

As soon as we were a few feet outside the guild hall, Loke came to a stop. The expression on his face looked shaken for a moment before it subsided into his usual mask. He turned back to look at me with a grin and adjusted his shades. "And what can I help you with?"

"Why don't you give it a chance?" I asked simply.

"Give what a chance?"

Crossing my arms, I smiled at him before responding. "I think that you and Lucy could become great friends. There's no need to run from her, she's a really nice person."

Loke's expression wavered.

"You and I both know why that can't happen."

"And why not? Just because she's a celestial spirit mage doesn't mean that you have to avoid her or treat her like she's the plague. That's actually kind of rude, you know?" I pressed. "And I already figured out who you were a while back; this doesn't suit your personality either."

"The thing is that it would be better this way." Loke responded surely. "I'd rather disappear in peace without any of my friends knowing. A lot of problems can be avoided that way. Besides, it would only remind me…"

"Hey now, haven't you ever considered that you could still find a way to return home?"

Loke sighed and shook his head. "The horrible deeds I did in the past can't be erased. What's done is done."

"But they can be forgiven." I said before wrinkling my nose in disdain. "I hate to sound all preachy, but that's what I think. You just need to keep pushing forward. And how do you think I would feel if you just left one day without saying anything? Look, just…try being at least civil with Lucy, alright?"

Loke froze up in shock, looking past my shoulder.

"Is that…" he trailed off, our previous conversation forgotten. Turning to look myself, I saw what it was he was looking at—who he was looking at. In the distance a massive cart could be seen with stacks of suitcases piled neatly on top. I could see a flash of the red hair of the person pulling the cart behind her.

"It's Erza!" I said cheerfully.

"I better warn everybody. Master Makarov isn't here to keep everyone out of trouble, and with Erza…" He shivered. "This won't take long." Turning heel, he sprinted back towards the guild with me following closely. Slamming open the door, the short run made him seem out of breath and he announced loudly for everyone to hear.

"Got bad news! It's Erza! She's on her way here!" He said direly.

Loke's words had an instantaneous effect on the guild. Panic entered everyone's eyes and they all started to freak out. Standing behind Loke, I didn't see what the big deal was. It was rather funny from my perspective, but maybe it was because of the things I knew.

Behind us, I could hear heavy footsteps. Erza was coming closer.

"Well, my job here is done." Loke said to me as he slipped out the door again.

"Wait for me!"

Back out on the streets once more, this time Loke and I sank into an easy walk away from the guild and the main road.

"You didn't have to follow me, you know?" He stated.

"I know." I responded. "I just wanted to make sure that you didn't take what I was saying earlier in the wrong way. I'm not trying to be pushy or anything; I promise. I can understand that you don't want to cause your other friends to worry if they see you in a state like this. Lucy having their keys makes it more likely, but…What do I know? I'm rambling again." I said cutting myself off.

"Hm. I appreciate the concern. You really do care about me don't you?!" Loke gushed before turning seriously once more. "Look, I'll tell you what:I can take care of myself. Why don't you worry about the time being? "

"Crap." I said in realization. "Maybe you're right." If Erza was back, that meant that Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray would be heading out with her soon to stop the dark guild from using the Lullaby flute against the guild masters. And I couldn't remember the town name where they were for the life of me, so I had to hurry or else I would be left behind.

For something like that, I wanted to be close enough to watch and make sure that things turned out okay.

I didn't want to take any chances.

* * *

...

Author's Note: There we have it. Next chapter. There are going to be a few changes ahead, some subtle and some not so subtle; who knows what will happen next! Beta: **ShadowJab17**

Thank you so much to all of my readers out there and feel free to leave any comments or questions!

Until next time

~BlueCampanula


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: An Odd Lullaby**

* * *

...

As it turned out, there was no need for me to rush to the train station after all…Not when we had to be there the next morning. It was the smallest details would escape me like that and I had a feeling that it would make me jumpy in the coming months. How was I supposed to recall all of that?

"Ugh! I hate this! Teaming up with you is the worst idea ever!"

"Yeah, tell me about it. Erza made a huge mistake asking a loser like you to come along."

"Fine then. Why don't you just take care of it yourself?"

"And they're already at it." I said with a sigh. That morning, I ended up sitting next to Lucy on a bench at the train station with Happy between us; Lucy even brought along one of her smaller celestial spirits, Plue. The four of us merely looked on as Gray and Natsu went at it, arguing with each other in public. Despite feeling a slight twinge of embarrassment for my guild mates, the funny stares people were giving them was priceless.

"Let's just sit here and pretend we don't know them." Lucy said hugging Plue closer to her.

"Don't worry about it." I said with a reassuring smile. Lucy's expression brightened up before I continued. "I mean, they already know we're associated with each other!" I grinned and pointed to the mark on my cheek.

"When you say that, it makes it worse." Lucy deflated.

"So Finn, why'd you come?" Happy asked, ignoring Lucy's mortified expression.

"Me? Well, I came along as a spectator." I supplied. "From what I've learned, Natsu and Gray don't team up much and throw Erza into the mix and who knows what will happen! Besides, I also couldn't let Lucy go by herself."

"To think that Mira asked me to go with these two…" Lucy muttered. "How am I supposed to keep them from fighting behind Erza's back?"

"I don't know, but you aren't doing a very good job." Happy said putting a fish into his mouth and chewing on it.

Lucy looked to me and I shrugged my shoulders in response.

"Eh, beats me. No doubt that everything will be fine on the train though. Poor Natsu's going to crash when it starts moving." I shuddered. "After that he won't be physically capable of fighting with Gray."

"Yup." Happy chimed. "It gets him every time."

"Sorry I'm late." Erza's voice interrupted. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No, not at all." Lucy perked up; her expression quickly changed to one of shock when she saw the massive wagon of luggage that the red haired wizard towed behind her. Meanwhile Natsu and Gray's reaction was immediate. They froze up, but in the next second they were linking arms, practically bouncing with enthusiasm as they looked at Erza.

"It's time to go, good buddy." Gray said with an overly sweet tone.

"Aye!" Natsu responded.

"Wow." I said watching them with an eyebrow raised. "Seeing this is actually kind of creepy." With the fact that I had come to actually know them personally in the past month, this was really offsetting. It was impossible to play mediator and keep the two of them from fighting…Unless you were Erza of course.

"I know! Natsu takes on Happy's personality!" Lucy agreed.

"It makes me happy seeing you two getting along." Erza said completely oblivious to our small discussion. "And what was your name?" She said turning her attention to Lucy who got up from the bench. "I believe I saw you at the guild yesterday."

"My name's Lucy and I just joined Fairy Tail. Mira asked me to come along with you guys so I could learn a thing or two. I hope that's okay with you."

"That's fine. The more the merrier. I'm Erza. Wait, you're the girl I heard about. I was told you defeated a mercenary gorilla using only your pinky finger." Erza responded, her eyes flickering over her shoulder to where Gray and Natsu stood. Lucy seemed to balk at her choice of words. Reassuringly, I placed a hand over her shoulder.

"And Finn," Erza said, her eyes moving to me. "I am glad to see you here as well. We could use you."

I smiled.

"Happy to help!"

"Hey Erza!" Natsu said breaking out of his strange act. "I'll come with you, but only on one condition." Beside him, Gray tried to shut him up, but with no luck; he was being completely ignored. Erza turned around and looked at Natsu with her full attention and Gray backed off a little.

"Oh? Let's hear it." Erza said with interest.

"Okay." Natsu said clenching his fist. "I want a rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail."

"What's wrong with you? You got a death wish?" Gray almost hissed in concern.

"I'm a lot stronger than I was last time. This time it'll be different, because I'm going to beat you." Natsu responded to Gray without taking his eyes off of Erza. She considered his proposal for a second before a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Yes, I can tell you've improved." Erza said seriously. "As to whether or not you can beat me, I suppose we'll have to see. I accept your challenge."

"Oh yeah!" Natsu shouted victoriously. "I'm fired up!"

"But not for long." I muttered beside Lucy.

* * *

…

The train's whistle sounded loudly as it powered down the tracks. The mountainous hills continued to get bigger as we made our way out of Magnolia and into the green countryside that was surrounding it. The seven of us piled into a single train cart for the trip; I sat in between Gray and Natsu with Happy on my lap while Lucy and Erza sat opposite of us with Plue being held by Lucy.

Natsu was already down for the count and the color of his face had turned a sickly color.

"I swear you're pathetic, Natsu." Gray said coolly as he looked out the window. "One minute you're picking a fight and the next you're like this."

"Poor guy can't help it." I said sympathetically as I kept a wary eye trained on the sick fire mage. "I think he just needs to find some seriously strong medicine to help with his motion sickness." Sitting next to him was a horrible idea, but I didn't think about that when we boarded.

"It's gotta be tough on him with traveling." Lucy responded. "Um…Maybe I can try something? Finn, can you switch places with me?"

I blanked for a moment at her question.

"Huh? Oh, sure." I then answered. Getting up from my seat, I placed Happy down and moved aside as Lucy squeezed next to Happy. Being careful not to sit on Plue, I sat back into the bench beside Erza, watching Lucy with curiosity. She tentatively reached out to Natsu, grabbing his wrists and pinching down on them.

She cringed slightly seeing Natsu's face up close, but stayed where she was.

"The other day I read something about pressure points and, well…I was thinking maybe I could give it a shot to see if it can help." Lucy offered.

Well that was different.

Thinking quickly, I rationalized what I was seeing. I knew that she was a book worm, but why Lucy decided to read about that in particular, I hadn't a clue. More than likely, it was probably a result of my own presence there. Something was bound to happen differently, and that was something I did know.

"Hm, that's very interesting." Erza hummed thoughtfully. "Not the method I would have chosen, but perhaps we can see what it does."

In response, Natsu's head lolled back onto the seat and he groaned slightly.

"Erza, I think it's about time you started filling us in." Gray started. "I mean, what kind of a mission are we going on here?"

"Of course." Erza said changing her train of thought. "I have reason to believe the dark guild Eisenwald is planning something big. I'm not sure what exactly, but it has to do with a magic item called Lullaby."

"Lullaby?" Gray, Lucy, and I said simultaneously.

"Well doesn't that sound…intimidating." I joked lightly.

"Haven't we heard of that from somewhere?" Gray asked.

"Yeah." Lucy responded. "The wizards who tried to take Happy mentioned something like that before."

"Did I miss something?" I said in confusion. Happy being grabbed by some strange people? It must have been something that happened in the anime, and I couldn't remember it…I hoped.

"Well, we were coming back from a job and these people attacked us and tried to eat Happy." Lucy explained. Happy shook slightly. "Before we could get any answers out of them, somebody else dragged them away. We couldn't see who it was."

"So you've run into the Eisenwald guild before." Erza assumed.

"Well I'm not positive they were a part of Eisenwald, but they did mention a Lullaby." Gray corrected.

"It sounds like they were members who dropped out of the guild and went into hiding. Perhaps they wanted no part in whatever it is that is coming." Erza said.

"So this thing is so bad that it even scares dark wizards?"

"It's only a hypothesis."

"It makes sense though." I said voicing my own thoughts. Lullaby was a demon after all, therefore it had to have some sort of reputation around it. "And didn't Eisenwald use to be an assassin guild?"

"Assassin?!" Lucy jumped.

"You are correct, Finn." Erza answered. "They were banned by the council six years ago, but that did not stop them."

"Can I go home now?" Lucy said timidly. From where I sat, I could plainly see her shaking. Natsu groaned in response.

"How did you find out about this anyway?" Gray spoke up.

"It was three days ago. I had stopped by a pub in Onibas that was a gathering place for local wizards. While I was there, some of the people in the pub were acting suspicious. I overheard them speaking of a magical artifact they identified as Lullaby. One of the people in the group—I believe Kage was his name—volunteered to retrieve it." Erza recounted. Her brow furrowing, she slammed a fist down into the pink seat cushion beside her.

"If I would have recognized Erigor's name that day I could have pulverized them." She said bitterly. "I could have forced them to reveal their scheme to me."

"She's scary!" Lucy squeaked.

"Well, what's done is done." I interrupted. "What matters now is that we find the Eisenwald guild and stop them from using this Lullaby. That's what you wanted help for, right?" Erza nodded her head in response.

"Destroying a dark guild?" Gray asked with interest. "That sounds like fun to me."

"Grrrrgh." Natsu mumbled.

"Ah! I think I made it worse." Lucy said frantically, forgetting her previous fear. And Natsu did look worse than he did before.

"Then there is only one solution." Erza concluded. "Natsu, come over here." She motioned.

Taking that as a cue, I moved out of my own seat and found myself wedged beside Lucy as Natsu slowly moved over to Erza. She helped him down into the seat and he collapsed against her shoulder. It all seemed like a comforting gesture at first. And I flinched at what came next.

Correction: Cringed.

In a single swift motion, Erza sucker punched Natsu in the gut and he went completely limp. Poor Natsu was out cold. Beside me, Lucy gasped in shock. Gray ignored the whole scene as if it was something he had seen before.

At least things were going along the way they should—even if it was painful for Natsu.

"How much further to go before we reach Onibas?" I asked trying to change the subject. Gray was the first to respond.

"I'd say about an hour."

"And we will also get lunch after we have passed a few more stations." Erza added. "We need to keep our strength up for the coming fight."

"I'm glad I came along then." I said bawling up my fist. "Fighting against another guild could help me test out how much I've improved."

"A test?" Lucy asked skeptically. "You do know that this could possibly be a life or death situation, right?"

I looked at her.

"Of course I know that, but I've been up against worse odds before." I replied. Both Lucy and Gray looked at me with a hint of question in their eyes. Realizing what I said, I decided to continue before they said anything else. "I mean, you've seen Natsu in a fight before. Erza and Gray are just as overpowered…Well, with Erza, a bit more than that."

"I guess that makes sense." Lucy nodded in thought. "That was before you were in the guild, right?"

"Yes." I answered.

"I'm not surprised." Gray assessed. "This is the first time that the three of us have gone on a mission together."

The three practically grew up together, but I guess that didn't necessarily include taking on jobs together. In my head I could imagine how it would have gone, especially with the fact that Natsu and Gray had the same relationship back then as they did now; constant fighting. Going along with Erza too, that would have been a sight. She was already a fearful figure as it was.

"I forgot to ask. What sort of magic do you guys have?" Lucy asked.

From there, our conversation drifted to much easier topics. I listened and watched as Gray and Erza explained their magic to Lucy with Happy adding his own commentary. Frequently I found myself looking over at Natsu with something akin to pity stirring in my mind, but I would brush it aside just as fast. It felt nice to sit back and hear them talk; I was traveling with a big group again just like before.

And everything was as it should have been.

* * *

…

Erza was a terrible driver.

"I swear I don't have motion sickness, but—Urphhh!"

I was clinging to the door of the small car that Erza 'borrowed'; it was called a magic mobile. The tires seemed to be going over every bump and dip in the road, and I could feel all of it. That didn't do any good to the food in my stomach. We were speeding down a road that ran parallel to the train tracks; after reaching Onibas station, Erza forgot Natsu on the train. After a failed attempt at pulling the emergency stop for it, Erza went to our next option.

I should have thought about joining Gray on the roof of the car. Maybe then it would have been better.

"Erza!" I heard Gray shout.

"I know, I see it."

Gathering my senses, I looked out of the window. We were closing in on the train, and fast. A big plume of black smoke could be seen coming from it which meant that Natsu was fighting with Kage. Lucy had almost half of her body hanging out the window, her eyes fixed on the train.

"What's going on over there?" Lucy asked loudly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gray shouted back in response.

"Well, to answer your question, Lucy," I said sticking my head out of my own window, "He's either really desperate to get off the train or he's fighting someone. My money is on the latter."

"Get ready; the train's almost within reach." Erza quipped. "There's no telling what to expect!"

 _Crack!_

A loud splintering noise echoed in my ears followed by the sound of glass breaking.

"Natsu!"

"Incoming!" I shouted.

Although I couldn't see Gray up on the top of the roof, I could easily see Natsu; it was very hard to miss a blur of pink. He came flying out of the train cart and towards us at full speed. The result of that sounded pretty painful. Gray called out right as Natsu plowed into him; the car jerked from the force and before I knew it, we were leaving behind the two on the ground.

Erza slammed on the breaks of the magic mobile, and I almost spilled out of the car myself. Jerking the wheel, she turned the car around in a single swift motion and we finally came to a halt.

"Natsu, are you alright?!" Erza exclaimed as she hopped out of the driver's seat.

"That hurt, you idiot!" I heard Gray complain.

Fumbling for the door latch, I quickly let myself out of the vehicle and stretched. Lucy stood beside me for a moment and looked around. We were stopped along the train tracks which ran right by what appeared to be a small pig farm.

"Shut up, ice princess!" Natsu retorted. "How come you guys left me on the train?!"

"I'm sorry, Natsu." Erza apologized as Lucy and I walked up to the three. Both Natsu and Gray had massive red bumps on their foreheads; a result of them colliding into each other. Neither of the two looked pretty happy.

"Natsu, what's in your hand?" Happy asked curiously.

I almost forgot about him.

"Oh yeah, check this out!" Natsu boasted proudly. When he held up his hand, I paused for a moment before a sinking feeling settled into my stomach. There was a peculiar looking flute in his hands; one that looked pretty old and worn with a skull on one end.

"Natsu, where did you get that?" I asked with slight dread.

"You know that Eisenwald guild you mentioned on the train? Some weirdo from that guild started picking a fight with me and he dropped this!" He grinned and twirled it around in his hands. "I decided to pick it up!"

"Three eyed skull?" Lucy mumbled.

Rather than scold Natsu, Erza zeroed in on the skull. "Natsu, let me see that." She commanded. Automatically, Natsu held it out and Erza took it from him, studying it.

"What's the matter, Lucy?" Happy questioned.

"I've heard about it before…It's death magic. Lullaby."

This was all wrong.

Erza's eyes left Lullaby and she looked at Lucy with a dead-set expression.

"Lucy, are you absolutely positive about this?" She asked seriously.

She hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"Yeah. There's no doubt about it."

"Flame brain actually did something right for once?" Gray muttered under his breath before shaking his head. "So what now? We've got this supposed death magic on our hands; what do we do with it?"

"I'm not sure. One thing's for certain, Eisenwald will no doubt try to get it back." Erza contemplated. "We have no idea what their motivation was behind this, nor do we know what their intentions are currently."

"Then…are we going to hand it over to the council?" Lucy speculated. "Maybe they could do something about it?"

"Putting that sort of magic in the hands of the council doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps it would be best if we handed it over to the master." Erza concluded.

"Or I could keep it." Natsu suggested.

"The old man's over in Clover town, right? With all the other guild masters there, I think that would be a good idea. They should know what to do." Gray said ignoring Natsu. "It's only a little further up the tracks just past Oshibana station."

"Finn, you've been really quiet. What are you thinking?" Erza asked.

"Are you alright? You look kind of…" Lucy trailed off.

Suddenly, I felt the eyes of the group land on me. The entire time they were talking, my attention was set on the wooden flute in Erza's hand. I must have been burning a hole through it, but I couldn't help it. In my mind I knew that things just went to hell. The reason that I realized was the cause? Natsu was conscious enough to hear Erza speaking.

How stupid could I be?

"Finn?" Happy said tugging on my pants.

Blinking, I snapped out of my train of thought and tore my eyes off of the flute. Looking at Erza, I kept the expression straight on my face as I tried to think of a way to respond.

"Do you want to take a closer look—"

"—No." I cut her off. "No. I don't want to; just…I think you should hold onto it for now, Erza. Taking it to Master Makarov seems like the best option that we have. After that, we still need to track down the Eisenwald Guild. We can't afford to let them try anything else, so let's get in the car and go."

I had to start patching things up as much as I could at this point.

I started to walk away and didn't notice that they weren't following. Pausing in my steps, I finally glanced over my shoulder and raised an eyebrow at them. "What are you waiting for?" I almost snapped. "Erza?"

"Right." She said as if coming out of a trance. "My apologies Finn. I do not know what came over me. Let's go. Every second we spend here is another second given to Eisenwald." At Erza's command, Natsu, Gray, and Lucy started to move. Getting back to the car, I silently opened my door and slid back onto the leather seats. Lucy sat in the middle next to me while Natsu reluctantly followed suit. Gray was back on the roof and before I knew it we were moving again.

Absentmindedly, I fiddled around with the silver pendant on my neck; it felt like it was itchy just resting against my skin. The breeze passing through the open window did little to help as we continued to barrel down the dirt road. Natsu was practically hanging out of the window with nothing but Lucy to stop him from falling out.

"I didn't think she could be that scary…" I heard Lucy mumbling to Happy.

"Nobody talks to _her_ like that." Happy added. "Even Natsu got beat pretty bad."

"Erza's not really that scary." I huffed, breaking my silence. The two of them looked at me blankly. "Come on, really?"

"Stop trying to change the subject." Happy stated. I shot him a confused look before sending Lucy a questioning glance. Her back straightened slightly and she waved it off.

"It's nothing!" She said "But what exactly is bothering you? Compared to what you were saying earlier this is kind of the opposite...and I shouldn't be the one comforting you, what about me?" Lucy mumbled the last part under her breath quietly.

"I came expecting a completely different situation, but now we've been turned into a moving target." I answered honestly. I didn't have any clue about what was going to happen next. Spewing off random information about Lullaby that I wasn't technically supposed to have would be suspicious and there was one other fact…

Couldn't that thing hear what we were saying?

The Lullaby flute did have a mind of its own—knowing that, there was also the possibility that it could act out any time it wanted, transforming into its real form. And that could happen anywhere. Right now, or even in the middle of a town.

I couldn't exactly suggest snapping it in half without something going wrong.

"Don't…Worry," Natsu reassured sluggishly. "Always come out…on top."

Silently I pondered his words for a moment, letting them linger on the air. Even if Natsu was barely making any coherent sentences in his sick state, what he said was meaningful enough. My face brightening, I nodded my head. "Definitely. I agree with that one. Sorry about my doubting."

There was a banging noise from the top of the car.

"Hey, look alive down there!" Gray called. "We've got company!"

"Hold on!" Erza warned.

Turning my attention to the front window, past Erza I could see what looked like…Motorcycles?

A split second later, she yanked the wheel sharply and the vehicle swerved. I barely had time to grab onto my seat to try and stop myself from being flung around. Lucy and Happy seemed to have the same idea, but Natsu wasn't as responsive. He crashed right into me, squeezing me against the metal car door.

That was when I heard a loud pop.

The door gave out and before I knew it, I was sent forward and tumbling out of the door with Natsu on top of me. Reacting on instinct, I reached out and grabbed onto the side of the opening. Natsu however fell out completely.

"Natsu!" Happy cried before zipping out the car right by me.

At least he was taken care of.

Erza kept driving, twisting the vehicle around. Why? Because the people on the motorcycles were firing at us. Bolts of unidentified magic were whizzing by my face and I shrieked, trying to keep my grip on the speeding contraption. I felt my grasp starting to slip; we were going too fast for me to hold on.

"Finn!"

I looked up in my panic to see Gray reaching his hand out towards me. Mustering up my courage, I grabbed for his hand and found myself pulled up onto the top of the car. I briefly wondered how he managed to keep himself steady, but that question was answered when I saw the ice surrounding his feet; he was anchored to the car.

"You okay?" He asked. I nodded in response. "Let's deal with these guys!" Bringing his hands together, Gray's expression became focused.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

A flash of stunning blue engulfed us as ice lashed out from Gray's hands. The spears of ice darted out towards the motorcycles that were now following on our heels. They were quick though; easily they moved aside. "Dammit!" Gray cursed.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

A blast of flames from behind our attackers caught them off guard. Two of them were swept up in it. Natsu's timing couldn't have been any better. Happy was holding him up and the two flew up alongside the car. "You idiot! It took you long enough!" Gray was the first to say.

"Hey! At least I didn't miss!" Natsu fired back.

"It's on!"

Finding a hold on the car, I watched as both Natsu and Gray began taking out our pursuers in a competitive fury. Natsu and Happy rushed them head first while Gray began taking aim at them with a small cannon like ice weapon. The Eisenwald guild had very talented riders, I would give them that; they split up and began trying to get closer to us. I was so caught up in watching Gray and Natsu fight that I almost didn't react in time when one biker came up right beside the car.

One was in control of the bike while another sat behind him; His hand was at the ready and I could see the beginning spark of a spell. My eyes widened and my hands moved up instinctively to shield myself.

"Light barrier!" I reacted saying the first words to come to mind.

An image in my mind, a massive glyph of writing in light spread out from my fingertips. And not a moment too soon. A massive glob of dark looking magic collided with it. I felt the force of it hit my hands as the magic scattered across my last minute defense.

"Nice one!" Gray shouted before taking them out with a wave of ice.

"Natsu! I can't hold it any longer!" I heard Happy panic.

In a poof, his wings disappeared and I could see a look of surprise cross Natsu's face. He started to fall, only to crash into the last bike that was following us. His face turned green before the bike crashed out of sight.

"That's the last of them!" Erza declared.

Right after she said that, there was a feeling of relief that washed over us. When the car began sputtering to a stop, I looked down at Erza. I was almost surprised; I could see her shoulders heaving up and down. Erza looked genuinely tired.

"Erza, are you…?" Lucy asked in concern, popping her head out of the window.

"I'm fine." She replied curtly. "We should wait for Natsu and Happy to catch up for the time being."

"Do you want me to take over then? I can tell that you've used up a lot of your magic already." Gray stated.

"No. I can handle it. We need to make it to Clover with all haste. If it comes down to it I'll just have to use hand to hand combat. Besides, I have you, Natsu, and Finn to back me up." Erza said with determination.

"Can she really do that?" Lucy asked in awe as we gathered to the side of the magic mobile.

"Better believe it. This is Erza, after all." I answered reassuringly.

"You've still got the flute, right?" Gray asked.

"Yes." Erza answered. She motioned to her hip, and at her side she had the flute strapped to her belt just beneath her armor. "We—"

"Well, well," A sharp voice cut Erza off. "What have we here? Some Fairy Flies? I'll be taking back what's rightfully mine now."

Before any of us could react, unknown people seemed to appear out of nowhere; we were surrounded, and by what looked like the entire Eisenwald guild. Erigor was there too, sitting perched atop his scythe in the air.

"You must be Erigor." Erza inquired fearlessly.

"I'm afraid we are on a bit of a tight schedule, so I don't have time for questions." Erigor said coolly. His followers laughed and he looked to them.

"Men, Retrieve the Flute."

* * *

...

Author's Note: Yep, things definitely went wrong for Finn in this chapter. One small difference led to a massive change of events. Not much else to add for now! Thank you so much to all of my viewers out there and especially those who favorited and/or are following my story! Beta: **Shadowjab17**

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

* * *

...

It was an understatement to say that things went to hell in a hand basket.

The four of us—excluding Natsu and Happy—were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by goons from the Eisenwald guild. And as soon as Erigor gave the command, they had closed in on us in a heartbeat. All the while the man himself sat back with his scythe resting on his shoulder and watched the fight.

"Stay strong and fend them off!" Erza commanded.

In her hands, she had materialized a simple silver sword. Erza was the first of us to jump into the fight, quickly taking out four dark wizards with a single swipe. Watching her though, I felt a tinge of worry; though she herself didn't show it too much, I could tell that Erza was already tired. Using the magic mobile the way she had, her magic must have been drained.

Beside me, Lucy watched Erza in awe for a moment before snapping back to reality. "This time, I can help too!" She claimed, snatching a key off of her ring. "Open, gate of the crab: Cancer!" In a burst of light, a familiar celestial spirit appeared into the fray.

"Ice make: Lance!"

I quickly forgot my worries in that instant. "Rain of light!" I chanted. The members of the Eisnewald guild were a little tough; I would give them that. After beating one down, another would get back up. While I couldn't spare much of a glance in Erigor's direction, I knew that he wasn't making a move. He was waiting for something.

"So pathetic." A voice snipped. I turned my head sharply to see a man with spikey dark hair that was pulled into a ponytail—Kage. "You Fairies are outnumbered and weak. And that pink-headed nimrod isn't anywhere to be seen. I've got a score to settle with him." Kage grumbled furiously. "But maybe I'll just get you out of the way first."

Kage shifted into an offensive stance and I found myself mimicking his actions. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins and I felt a smirk twist its way onto my lips. "So, Shadow versus Light. Wonder which will win? If you're so confident, then this won't take you long." I prodded. The confidence of Kage's expression wavered slightly; there was confusion in his eyes.

Taking that as my opening, I rushed at him head on. "Solar Punch!" I shouted. Swinging my fist forward, I carelessly aimed for Kage's head. This brought him out of his stupor and he was quick to react.

"Guard Shadow!"

My hand collided with a wall of darkness that expanded into existence and my arm jolted with the impact. Jumping back, I released another attack.

"Flare!"

"Knuckle Shadow!"

The two forces collided again and I flinched. Opening up my eyes again, I realized that Kage was nowhere to be seen. Thinking fast, my eyes darted around the area. That was when I felt something wrap around my ankle and I let out a shriek. My foot was pulled out from underneath me and I landed on my back. A dark shadow rose up from the ground revealing none other than the shadow wizard.

He sneered.

"Too easy."

I scowled.

"Why don't you look behind you?" I shot back.

Kage whirled around in surprise to see Natsu Dragneel moving in behind him. But before a flaming fist could reach him, Kage lunged out of the way, leaving me behind. The scowl on my face turned into a wide grin and I held back a laugh. Natsu walked beside me as Kage looked on, a look of rage in his eyes.

But the Natsu that stood beside me, wasn't the real deal.

"You…You're the reason I almost got kicked out!" Kage spat.

"Kicked out of your own guild for one little mess up?" I cut in. "That sounds a little harsh. Oh, and are you sure you want to fight him?" Before I could egg him on further, Kage lashed out with a dark ray of shadow from his hands and I narrowly ducked out of the way in time. The dark magic went straight through Natsu and I could hear someone shout in surprise.

"What the—"

"Not exactly what you were expecting, hm?" I chided as Natsu's image burst into flecks of light.

"It was just a trick?!" Kage spat in annoyance.

"You bet it was!" I jeered. "A trick of the light, if you will!"

"Shadow Orochi!"

I shrieked in surprise again as a horde of shadow snakes came at me. Panicking slightly, I threw my hands up defensively. "Rain of light!"

"Kageyama," Erigor's cold voice interrupted. "You are wasting my time. Retrieve the flute now or face the consequences."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get it back." Kage retorted under his breath. He turned away from me and began moving towards Erza who was still preoccupied with fending off the other dark wizards.

"Hey, you're not going—aughhh!"

Before I could stop him, I was immobilized as what looked like dark bandages wound around my body. That was when I finally saw another familiar face among the dark guild members; the one that wore a yellow striped hood. The way he was dressed was reminiscent of an Egyptian theme, but I couldn't think of his name.

"What are you guys, cockroaches?!" I complained. "And where the hell are you, Natsu!" Struggling, I tried to break free, but it was in vein.

"It's no use." The guy stated.

"Then why don't I lend a hand?"

A cold sensation came over me and I could see the bandages begin to ice over. Taking that as my cue, I tugged on them once more. A satisfying crunch met my ears and I breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure around my arms and legs disappeared. "Thanks for that, Gray."

"Yeah, now go help Erza. Flame brain will be along any second, not that we need him." Gray responded coolly.

"Right." I nodded my head before turning away to search for Erza.

"Now tell me, what are you guys planning to do with the flute?" I heard Gray demand.

Erza wasn't hard to spot; it was easy with her red hair.

She didn't look too good and was surrounded by a lot of the dark guild's wizards. Lucy was near her too, cutting through people with her celestial spirit. Already thing were starkly different than I could have imagined it; there had to have been twice as many dark wizards around than what the anime had shown.

Between where I was with Gray and where Lucy and Erza were, there was a huge gap. They had successfully divided us all, and without Natsu anywhere, I didn't see the fight going in the right direction. Was he still being bogged down by motion sickness somewhere? I sure hopped that Happy was trying to get some sense back into him.

I continued running towards Erza when I saw one of the many wizards surrounding her finally reaching out towards the flute. His grubby hands wrapped around it and he somehow pulled it free. Noticing what had happened, Erza was fast to react. She slammed the butt of her sword into the man's abdomen and instantly he let go of the flute. It was now flying through the air on its own. "Lucy!" Erza called.

"I got it!" The blonde responded, reaching out for the flute. As soon as her fingers closed around it, her eyes met mine. "Finn, catch!" She shouted.

My eyes widened as she threw the item from her hands. Scrambling as fast as I could, I darted forward and stretched my hands out. There was a sick feeling in my stomach and I didn't like it. By some luck, the flute made its way to me without falling on the ground. "Sure, let's play hot potato with a demonic flute!" I scolded as I held the flute in a vice grip.

"Finn, look out!" Gray shouted in warning, but it was too late.

An invisible force slammed into me from behind and I gasped in surprise. Still holding onto the flute, I was flung forward like a rag doll onto the ground face down. Groaning, I slowly looked up and a cold shiver ran up my spine.

Erigor was towering above me, a sneer plastered across his face. I could hear Gray, Erza and Lucy calling out to me, but I couldn't bring myself to send a glance at them. Erigor paused for a moment and with a wave of his hand, a roaring noise erupted behind me. I couldn't hear them anymore above the howl of wind.

"I'll be taking that now." Erigor announced as he grabbed ahold of the flute.

"No! I'm not going to let you use it!" I protested, tightening my grip. "I know what you're trying to do, and I can tell you that we won't let it happen!"

"Oh, really?" He challenged yanking the dark magic from my hands. "Look around you. Your friends are trapped. There is no one left to stop me. You flies already helped me by getting us this close to our goal."

Looking behind me, I could see that he was right. A massive vortex of wind was behind us, and Erza and the rest were nowhere in sight. I wasn't even sure how much ground we managed to cover with the magic mobile, but judging by how exhausted Erza was we were well past Oshibana Town. I got back up on my feet, I silently cursed myself. I had let myself lose sight of the bigger picture. The guild masters were all in danger and if I did nothing…

"I'm still here though," I said in determination. "And I won't let you push me out of the picture."

Erigor laughed at me.

"And just who are you?" He sneered. "You are not Erza Titania—No, you are not even an S-class wizard from the looks of it. You are a nobody; a mere insect." At his words, I felt a wave of anger wash over me. Part of my mind whispered that he was right, but I wanted to prove him different.

"You're wrong." I said biting back my anger.

"I don't have time for this."

As Erigor turned to leave, I reached my breaking point. Raising my hands, I took a step forward.

But something wasn't quite right. I stumbled forward and collapsed back onto the ground in surprise. Half of my body—my left arm and leg—were numb. In place of being able to feel, everything felt tingly and unresponsive; uncomfortable and heavy.

"W—why?" I spat out. There was nothing wrong with me. I knew that I hadn't expended even half of the magic I could have, but I couldn't move. Did…Erigor have some sort of magic that could immobilize people?

"Humph." He said without looking over his shoulder. "I doesn't seem like you have the strength to stop me after all. Farewell, fly."

"Erigor!" I cried angrily. He paid me no mind any longer and instead took to the sky. Using his wind magic, he darted off heading towards the jagged looking peaks in the distance. My breathing was ragged as I tried to sit up, but it was in vain. I couldn't do anything else except stare in the direction Erigor went. I had single handedly destroyed everything. Erigor had the flute, and he was headed for Clover town with no one to stop him.

"Damn it. Why?!" I cursed to myself. "I…messed up."

I failed.

"Finn!"

"Finn, what're you doing on the ground?"

I snapped my head up.

"Natsu! Happy!" I cried in hope. The pink haired wizard and his blue cat came to my side.

"What the heck happened?"

"And where's everybody else?" Happy asked.

"No time to explain!" I said quickly. "Natsu, you need to go after Erigor! He's heading straight for Clover—He's going to try and kill the guild masters!"

"WHAT?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Why the hell didn't you say anything before!"

"Happy, you need to go with him. The rest of us will be fine." I said to the cat before turning back to Natsu. "You've got to stop him."

"Happy, think you can give me a lift now?" Natsu asked hastily.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy responded curtly. Without wasting another second, the cat grabbed onto his shoulders and the two launched off into the air. Watching them go, I sighed in relief. As long as Natsu was there, everything was going to be fine.

"Now I just…have to get up." I grunted.

Moving my right arm, I tried crawling forward in an awkward wiggling movement. My arm and leg still felt weird, but I simply needed to figure out how to get them moving again. Reaching over, I grabbed my left arm and moved it. Pausing for a moment, I looked around again. How was I going to follow after them? Lucy, Erza, and Gray would be fine. While there wasn't a thing I could do from the outside, I knew that eventually Lucy would think of using Virgo to dig their way out. I wasn't too sure how well things would work out with trying to use Kage to get out, but…

"Ghah! Come on Finn!" I chided myself.

And then something happened when I tried moving once more.

I blacked out.

…

It was the hum of an engine that I woke up to next.

My eyes slowly fluttered open as I regained my senses and tried to remember what happened. The answer flashed in my mind: Erigor, Lullaby, Natsu. I needed to catch up to them. Jolting forward, I sat up before realizing where I was sitting. I was back in the magic mobile, and I wasn't alone. Gray and Lucy occupied the seats along with Kage, the guild member from Eisenwald.

"Finn, are you okay?" Lucy piped up realizing that I was awake. "I was really starting to worry! You weren't responding at all."

I blinked at her question, the fog still clearing from my mind. Thinking to myself, I wiggled my toes slightly and flexed my fingers. What had happened earlier and what I had felt, it was gone. Everything was surprisingly normal. Nodding slowly at my own assessment, I gave her an answer. "I am… Erigor took the flute and I got Natsu to go after him. Please tell me that's where we're going?"

Erza wasn't present, which had to have meant she was driving to car. Another reassuring fact was Kage's presence in the small cabin, but how he was there without Natsu's interference, I hadn't a clue. In the anime, Kage had nearly been killed by one from his own guild. Natsu had stirred some change in him and the group had taken him along with them.

"You haven't missed much." Gray commented. "What happened between you and Erigor?"

I winced.

"You can probably take a guess. He ripped Lullaby right out of my hands and I couldn't do a thing about it. He must have used some sort of paralysis charm against me—or at least somebody did." My eyes flickered to Kage in curiosity. "What is he doing here?" I asked bluntly. "No, back up. Tell me what happened to you guys."

"We were sealed off behind a wind barrier. Fighting everyone there wasn't a concern, but we were stuck." Gray answered. Nodding his head in Kage's direction, he continued. "And I figured you would already know the answer to that one: Erza got ahold of him. After we took everyone else down, we got him to take down the barrier. The Rune Knights aren't too far behind us either."

Rune Knights?

I nodded and crossed my arms in thought, attempting to piece together what else would possibly happen. I checked off a list in my head: Natsu grabbed the flute; Eisenwald attacked us in the middle of nowhere; Erigor got the flute and was currently heading for Clover with Natsu in hot pursuit. So far, it had to have been luck that things hadn't completely fallen apart. Natsu was still going after Erigor, and that was what mattered.

Now factoring Kage in, that was another story. Without Natsu around to stir some change in the guy, I had no idea what to think. He was essentially a loose cannon and there was no way I would let him cause any more problems. With that in mind, I came to a conclusion.

Things were going to be a bit different.

"This is turning into a giant mess." I grumbled before turning my gaze onto Kage. "So we are clear: I do not trust you."

"Likewise." He jabbed back.

"Hey, there's no need to start fighting." Lucy said in attempt to calm the atmosphere. "If you want, I could just call Virgo and she can watch over him with no trouble at all. I don't think he would have the guts to disobey Erza."

"Wait, Virgo?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's one of my new Celestial Spirits!" Lucy beamed, pulling out Virgo's key and showing me. "Didn't I mention that? I got her key during the last job. She's a bit…different though."

Right after Lucy finished speaking, Erza slammed on the breaks up front. The four of us were almost thrown out of our seats. It was probably a good thing that none of us were sitting close to the side where the car door was missing. That wouldn't have been pretty. I finally took note of the change in scenery around us; the desert like canyon and the bridge had given way into an actual road and leafy trees.

On top of that, the sky had already gone dark…

And there was smoke in the air.

Without uttering a word, Gray, Lucy, and I stepped out of the car. Erza stumbled a little as she got out of her own seat and Lucy rushed to her side; it was obvious how worn out she was, and I didn't blame her. "I guess we didn't need to hurry." Gray commented at what we saw.

A grin broke out on my face when I realized that a little further down the road, Natsu stood and Happy was right next to him, jumping up and down in triumph. A few feet in front of him, Erigor was lying on the ground. Judging by the charred appearance of some of the trees and the fading smoke around us, Natsu had just finished up the fight.

"But…Erigor never loses a fight." Kage muttered underneath his breath as he stepped out behind us.

Everything was going to be fine now.

What had to be even more surprising was that there was an audience watching.

"—Oh my, Makarov, you never mentioned how strong this one was." An effeminate voice said.

Whipping around in surprise, I saw none other than Makarov standing on the opposite side of the road behind us. A whole cast of other guild masters were watching as well and it didn't take long for me to narrow down the source of the voice. It came from a stout man wearing a pink spaghetti strap shirt; it was guild master Bob from Blue Pegasus.

Ignoring the awe on some of the other masters' faces, Makarov sighed before turning his attention to us, mostly posing his question to Erza. "Would any of you care to explain what this is all about? I was on my way back and what do I find? Not only that, but the entire town was put on alert!"

"Makarov, no need to be so harsh on these kids." Another guild master spoke up. I recognized him as the one from Quatro Cerberus.

"I will explain." Erza responded obediently. Lucy walked with her over towards the masters. And as soon as she launched off into an explanation, I found myself edging towards Natsu and the now defeated Erigor. I needed to get the flute, and when I did I was going to snap it right down the middle.

"Natsu!" I called out to him. "Where is the flute?"

"You can thank me!" Happy cheered as I approached them, brushing aside what I said. "I got Natsu to win." Luckily, I saw what it was I had been aiming for. The flute lay carelessly on the ground having been forgotten by Natsu. Ignoring Happy's words, I walked past him and Natsu with my eyes glued to the flute.

"I didn't realize how much trouble you would have." Gray prodded at Natsu.

I didn't listen for his response though.

"Hey, whatcha doing?" Happy asked in concern as I stooped down next to the wooden flute.

"Isn't it obvious?" I said picking it up. "I'm breaking this thing in half."

"What? Why? We won already, so what's the point?" Natsu pouted turning his attention away from gray. Shoving a finger in Erigor's direction, he continued. "He can't do anything about it, I whooped his ass!"

"Natsu, it's not an ordinary flute." Gray spoke up. "I thought we already established that, Flame Brain."

"—No, you cannot break it!" Erigor's raspy voice spoke up. "That flute belongs to me!"

"No it doesn't. You know just as well as I do about the myth surrounding it." Kage said stepping into view. Unconsciously, my fingers tightened around Lullaby and I found myself backing away from Kage but he didn't react. Instead he kept walking until he was looking down at Erigor. "It was made by the Dark Wizard himself." He added.

"Dark Wizard?" Gray mumbled.

"You traitor. I should have cut you loose the moment you lost the flute." Erigor hissed at him. "If you are worth anything you will get it back!"

"Hey, he's one of your guildmates isn't he?" Natsu protested taking a step forward.

"Nothing more than a useless cockroach."

In less than a second, Natsu bent down and grabbed Erigor by the black scarf wrapped around his neck. "Why would you say something like that about your own family?!" Natsu accused angrily.

"That's enough, Natsu. You have more than proven your point." Erza interrupted. She had made her way towards us alongside Lucy. The two probably came over because of how loud the conversation was carrying. It wasn't exactly quiet.

"Wait, so who is it that you were talking about? Who made Lullaby?" Lucy asked, directing the question at Kage.

"It's—"

"—Zeref." I finished.

I stood still for a moment as a discomforting silence settled over us. It felt as if a cascade of broken glass rattled through my mind. The name had left my lips so easily and a switch had been flipped. The dark wizard's name was Zeref. He was supposed to be one of the main antagonists in Fairy Tail, and he…Zeref was also my teacher.

The one who taught the founders of Fairy Tail magic?

Images of his face flashed through my mind; his dark hair, the white robes he wore. It made sense all of a sudden. The distance he put between himself and others, the knowledge of magic he had. His own magic was volatile and destructive, liable to kill anyone near him. Why couldn't I have thought of it before?

Zeref.

"—Finn!"

"What?" I blinked, slowly refocusing my attention. The flute was still in my hands and the air felt heavy. Natsu, Gray and Lucy looked on in confusion and Natsu's hand was on my shoulder. They were all staring at me in concern. Shaking my head, I grabbed the flute with both hands and Natsu backed off.

"Finn, what are you…?" Lucy questioned.

"What does it look like?" I asked. "Regardless of whose flute it is, it shouldn't fall into anyone else's hands. Him especially…His magic shouldn't be messed with."

"This is where you're wrong."

What?

Without another warning, my hands were immobilized by shadow and the flute was once again ripped out of my hands. I shouted in protest, with Natsu and Gray jumping to my defense. Kage stood still where he was, Lullaby now clenched in his hands and a victorious look on his face. "Your guilds make me sick. Wasting magic such as this is unnecessary and that's why you will always be weak." Kage chided.

"Hey!" Natsu and Happy yelled simultaneously.

"What is the meaning of this!" Erza demanded.

"I should have known this would happen." Gray scoffed.

"This is what it all comes down to. Your so called 'magic' guilds need to be punished for what you did. Stepping all over us, branding us as criminals. This is where things will change." Kage argued.

Each of us stood, watching him wearily. Even the guild masters that were standing somewhere behind us were silent. There was a sinister look in his eye, and I had a gut feeling that he wasn't feeling the slightest bit hesitant about using the death magic. He didn't face off against Natsu. He didn't realize just how horrible his guild was. The Kage in front of us now was one that wouldn't care about killing us all.

And as if to confirm my own thoughts, Kage raised the flute to his lips.

"You do know what that flute will do, right?" I broke my silence. "Death magic. You play it here and now and everybody will die. Is that really something you want? Will it bring you and your guildmates happiness? Can you say that it will solve all of your problems?"

Kage hesitated for a moment and turned his head slightly in the direction of his fallen leader.

"You fool." Erigor spoke up causing Kage to stop. "Hand the flute over to me."

"You…" Natsu spat. His fists were clenched in anger, all of us could tell. "You were the ones calling us weak, but ya know what? Saying that won't change anything about your guild, and it can't change the fact that I won't sit by and watch something like this happen!" As soon as those words flew from Natsu's mouth, he charged forward and sucker punched Kage in the gut.

The flute dropped from his hands and the man landed on the ground in a heap, barely missing Erigor.

"Way to go, Natsu!" Happy cheered.

"Alright Natsu!" Lucy applauded.

"—Pathetic, useless wizards!" A cracked voice called from out of nowhere. Everyone fell silent, and my eyes were drawn to the thing I was hoping I wouldn't have to listen to. "I will just have to eat you myself!" It snapped at us.

"Did it just…Talk!?" Lucy asked pointing at the flute.

"Something's coming out of it!" Happy cried in shock.

A flash of light lit up the night sky and I instantly felt the air overcome by a dark magic; it crawled at my skin. A dark purple glyph hovered over us in the air and spanned what I could only guess was about two football fields stacked next to each other. A resounding crack of thunder echoed over top of the valley that was Clover and the earth rumbled.

That was when before our very eyes the demonic flute known as Lullaby appeared before us in its true form. It towered over us as if we were ants and I could hear people screaming in the distance; I could only guess that the Rune Knights had caught up to us. It probably wasn't what they were expecting to find.

I knew I wasn't looking forward to this.

"It's so huge!" Lucy cried.

"Way to state the obvious!" Happy retorted. I couldn't help but agree with Lucy though. It was one thing seeing Lullaby in pictures on a screen, but here in front of me was the real deal. Simply looking at its hulking figure was giving me vertigo.

"Erigor never said anything about this!" Kage looked on in shock. That was when the guild master from Quatro Cerberus spoke up from behind us.

"It must be a demon from The Book of Zeref."

"In other words, not just some cursed flute." I loathed quietly.

"But why did it turn into that?" Lucy questioned.

"Because that is its true form. It is living magic, a forbidden magic and Zeref's specialty." The master responded.

"Living magic?" Erza repeated.

"So that's what this ancient wizard can do?" Gray noted.

"He was quite the wizard of his time, but I never thought I would see one of his dark legacies pop up in our time." Guild Master Bob added thoughtfully.

"—Now then, which of your delectable souls shall I eat first?" Lullaby called out.

"Delectable?! Hey, do you think souls would taste delicious?" Natsu asked Gray.

"How should I know?!"

"Why are you always thinking about food?!" Lucy retorted to Natsu.

I could feel a vein popping on my forehead. I just wanted to go home at the moment and it was then and there that I decided I had enough of this little excursion. "How about nobody, you over grown piece of driftwood!" I shouted in irritation.

"Finn!" Lucy shouted defensively.

"My thoughts exactly." Erza agreed. "Natsu, Gray—get everyone to safetly."

"Quit barking orders!" Natsu complained.

"Yeah, who made you the boss?" Gray added.

Erza glared at them. Shrinking back under her gaze, the two wizards did a one eighty and suddenly found themselves agreeing with her command. In the meanwhile, Lullaby had turned its attention to what I assumed were the knights in the distance. It spoke again, but I missed the words before it fired off a powerful beam of magic just around their position.

The beam of light crashed into one of the surrounding mountains, casting off a blinding light. All of us shielded our eyes from the blast and in an instant it had faded.

I think that this was when the army started to retreat in the anime.

"I have no need for their souls. I prefer the taste of a wizard's soul!" Lullaby claimed, his voice echoing above us.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try, big guy!" Natsu challenged. He and Gray didn't have to move a muscle in order to clear the area. It was made clear by the giant demon towering above us that it wasn't exactly the place to be. Even the guild masters had backed off and now they were watching from the sideline, some even wishing us luck.

Happy and Lucy were standing further back between them and Kage and Erigor were nowhere in sight. Me on the other hand…I hadn't moved an inch.

Right as I was about to join Lucy and Happy, Lullaby let out an earsplitting roar. Slapping my hands over my ears, I looked up at the demon and then back at Natsu, Gray, and Erza. A small amount of doubt crept into my mind: What if Erza had used up too much of her magic this time? Compared to the anime she looked absolutely exhausted. And what of Gray and Natsu?

Did I really want to take a chance?

"Finn!" Lucy called out to me. She was waving her hands, frantically trying to get my attention. A gust of wind at my back startled me and I turned back around in time to see Erza, Gray, and Natsu taking off at full speed. Keeping an eye on them, I reluctantly retreated.

They wouldn't need my help on this.

I would probably just get in the way.

"So why aren't you helping them Lucy?" I heard Happy ask.

"Come on, Happy. Three is more than enough to destroy that thing." I said reassuringly.

"How are you acting so calm about this?" Lucy asked in disbelief. "If Lullaby whistles even one note, we're done for!"

"Maybe." Happy tacked on.

"—You're not helping!"

"An instrument is an instrument though. Put a few holes in it and it's worthless." I commented, my eyes watching the fight. The trio moved about in almost a blur, flashes of fire and ice seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Lullaby remained impassive as they flittered around him, instead focusing his attention on gathering his magic.

"They're—they're incredible!" Lucy said in a trance.

Suddenly, Lullaby stopped moving and the massive glyph above him disappeared. A rumble deep within the demon's throat began to sound, and I started to feel a pull. My eyes widened as I watched the plants and the trees turn black and crumble. "It's really similar magic…" I noted quietly.

Same, familiar feel and it was making me sick.

"What's going on!?" Lucy shouted in Surprise. "All the trees are dying!"

"The song's coming!" Happy cried out.

"Your souls will be mine!" Lullaby's voice declared. Clasping its hands together, the demon began to howl. The sound was bearing down on us and then it was gone.

A creaky whistling noise sounded faintly on the air and I smirked.

"See?"

"Nothing happened?!" Lucy said in shock.

"Wow, you were right, Finn." Happy said cheerfully.

"Talk about going out with a whimper." Lucy balked. "It stood there for so long too, I thought we were in for it! He's completely useless now."

"Useless?!" Lullaby repeated angrily. Its eyes were on us now.

Well crap. Way to go Lucy.

Lullaby erupted into a fit of Fury. The ground shook beneath our feet and we were barely able to move as the demon kicked at the surrounding mountains. Some of the guild masters themselves were thrown into a panic and were sent flying. It was like Lullaby was trying to step on us like an angry toddler.

Natsu and Gray moved back into action. I wasn't given the time to find Erza, however, when I realized Lullaby's gaze center on us. The hairs stood on the back of my neck as it opened its maw and I could see red flames forming.

This was not supposed to happen.

"Everyone, look away!" I commanded.

On a whim, I centered my hands around my head.

Here went nothing.

"SOLAR FLARE!"

And the world went white.

I could hear people shouting and as soon as the light filtered away, I saw the results of my improvised attack: it was successful. In a split second I wondered if Tien Shinhan would mind me borrowing one of his moves. Nonetheless, I was thanking him at the moment. Lullaby had been sent reeling. Its hands were covering its eyes and it wasn't hard to see that I had blinded him.

"My eyes!" Somebody complained.

And…I blinded someone else too. Wonderful.

"Natsu, now!" Erza shouted.

Not wasting another moment, Natsu's hands became wreathed in flames and he brought them together above his head. "Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" A massive fireball the size of a small comet was hurdled towards the demon, and Lullaby didn't even see it coming. The flames crashed into the hulking giant and it released an agonizing scream.

Ever so slowly, Lullaby tipped backwards. Right as it was about to hit the ground, however, Lullaby's demonic form disintegrated before our very eyes; disappearing in a burst of magic. A cloud of dust washed over us, and I couldn't see a thing. The air crackled with a thick static energy.

"Well done." Makarov was first to say. Beside me, Lucy giggled in relief and I felt the tension drop from my shoulders. And as the dust began to settle, I could see the figures of Natsu, Gray, and Erza standing before us.

"That was incredible you guys!" Lucy called out as she ran to them.

"Way to go, Natsu!" Happy cheered.

"—I can't believe it." Another voice spoke up beside me. I turned my head slightly, and found myself looking at none other than Kage. "Are all of you Fairy Tail wizards this strong? But how could they do it?"

"You know, the answer is more obvious than you think." I humored him. I crossed my arms and took a deep breath before continuing. "I happened to learn the very answer not too long ago from my teacher. Strength of magic comes from the heart—something you dark guild wizards seem to be lacking."

That was something that Zeref did say.

I narrowed my eyes at the thought. With that little bit of information come to light, I realized something else. I would see Zeref again soon, and he would appear on Tenrou Island right along with Acnologia and another dark guild. What would happen with the fact that I knew him? The answer to that was the same, biting answer for every other question I had: I didn't know.

"My, my, that was an incredible performance! And aren't you just precious!" Guild Master Bob broke me out of my thoughts in time to see him grabbing Kage up into a hug.

"I must say, I'm not sure what happened here, but we owe you our thanks." A gruff voice spoke. It was the other guild master from Quatro Cerberus again.

"We do?" Some of the others questioned uncertainly.

Without even missing a beat, I spoke up pointing behind me.

"Guess you guys didn't notice the crater yet." I chirped smugly. "At least we weren't near the conference hall, right Master Makarov?" I walked over beside the old man and looked down to him for a response. He was as white as a ghost and didn't say anything. That was when Lucy grabbed my attention.

"You do realize that the conference hall was destroyed, right?"

Huh.

"Seriously?!" I cried in dismay.

"Wow Finn, you're worse than Lucy."

"Master, are you alright?"

"—I'm so sorry Master Makarov!"

Who said what completely went over my head. The only thing I was aware of right now was the massive crowd of angry looking guild masters slowly closing in on us. The only others not paying any attention were the ones from Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus. I really must have miscalculated. Was there such a thing as fate in the Fairy Tail universe? I hoped not.

"Um, guys? I get the feeling that we're not wanted here, hehe." I stated nervously. The five of them stopped what they were doing and a sweeping realization washed over them.

"Are you guys trying to catch somebody?" Natsu questioned dumbly.

"They're after us, idiot!" Gray shot back as he slowly backed away from the angry mob. Without saying another word, Erza grabbed ahold of Makarov's frozen form and she started running, Lucy tailing right behind her with wide eyes.

I guess that was our cue to leave.

* * *

...

Author's note: Hello everybody! I am alive and well; classes were just taking me for a crazy spin this time around. Sorry about the delay on this chapter, but it couldn't be helped! My hope now is that things will start to calm down, so I'll just have to wait and see. Anyways, onto the important stuff. The Lullaby Arc has drawn to a close and the story will be moving forward! What's next, hm...Galuna Island? Wonder what Finn will end up doing?

Thank you so much to all of my readers out there for your support! It's one of the main things that keep me going and provides an abundance of help. Another thanks to my beta: **ShadowJab17** for checking this chapter over and I also have another shout out to **Grifman275** for the idea of using Solar Flare. Feel free to leave any comments or reviews!

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

* * *

...

We got back to the guild in record time.

It was hard not to, especially since the trains were still operating out of Oshibana Station. By the time we returned, not much had transpired and we all settled back into normal routines. Looking at us, one would think that we hadn't faced off against a demon and that we hadn't been chased off by a horde of furious guild masters. Natsu and the rest acted the part too. But I found that there were unanswered questions drifting through my mind.

"Do you know that we almost followed Happy right into Clover Canyon? I didn't want to take any more detours for the day, no thanks." I staggered underneath the massive crate in my hands and shifted my grasp.

"Wait, so that was where Happy was leading us?" Lucy chimed in. "But with Erza there, I think she would have said something eventually, right? If it was just Natsu and Gray, then the bet's off on that one."

"Yeah, right," I muttered. "I already saw it coming a mile away."

"What were you expecting by following those three out the door? Honestly, that's something even I wouldn't have bothered with," Cana's voice came from behind me. "So…why are you digging around in here again?"

"That was something I was wondering too," Lucy added.

"I'm looking for information. What else?" Having walked across the small room, I deposited the crate on the ground with a large thud. Unsurprisingly, a cloud of dust rose into view and I quickly turned my head from it. Where I was at the moment was in a cramped little storage room that was located at the back of the guild hall.

It was placed right beside Makarov's personal office behind a small and unnoticeable door. The walls of the guild hall were thick enough that, once shutting the door, one was engulfed by a strange silence. Boxes were stacked up towards the ceiling and shelves were spilling over with junk and other odd trinkets that weren't limited to just books. The air itself reeked of dust and the only source of light appeared to be a dingy window against the back wall.

The first time I had stumbled across it, I had spent an entire day digging through pile upon piles of dust-laden books. For me it was almost like a treasure trove—that is to say if I looked past the horror that was the store room. There were a few magic books in its collection, and I had yet to scour the rest of the room.

What I was searching for now, or at least what I hoped to find, was information on someone who I had forgotten.

Zeref.

The dark wizard, and my teacher.

"You don't take breaks, do you?" Lucy asked.

"Can't that wait? I was looking for something entertaining." Cana suggested. I cast a glance at her over my shoulder. Straightening out my back, I pushed a piece of hair out of my face.

"I don't really think I'm up for a drink at the moment," I answered wryly. I walked back across the room and began taking down more books off a shelf, checking each title as they piled up in my hands.

"You _never_ want to get a drink," She drawled. "In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you drink, not even after a tough job. You need to loosen up a bit and besides you're what? A little older than me? And that's well over the age restriction."

"Seventeen," I corrected.

"Sure." Cana snorted skeptically. Choosing to ignore her comment, I stood on the tip of my toes in an attempt to reach one of the books on the very top of the wood shelf. "Alright, fine. I'll let you continue your research for today, but tomorrow we're going to do something fun. Maybe Levi and Mira can come too."

"Okay, sounds good." I responded absently.

"I can help if you want," Lucy offered. "Is there something you're looking for in here?"

"Won't know till I find it," I strained.

"You should be careful, you might—"

"—You won't believe it!" Mira's voice suddenly burst into the room. "Natsu and Erza are going to fight each other!"

"What!?" Cana shouted.

 _Crash!_

"Finn!"

I lost my balance and fell to the ground, somehow managing to take the very box I was reaching for. It tipped over, spilling out its contents and leaving me underneath a pile of papers and books. "Ow…" I mumbled as I sat up. The books toppled off to the side and I sneezed. Lucy came running over to me while I tried to refocus.

"Well that happened sooner than I thought. Next time why don't you use a stool?" Cana remarked as she took her time walking over. "And Mira, you said that Erza and Natsu are going to fight?"

"Yup," Mira responded as she stood in the doorway, not taking notice of my plight.

"I almost forgot about that," Lucy said as she put a hand on my shoulder. "You mean that they're actually going through with that?!"

"I better get going then! Somebody's got to keep track of the bets, and who better than me? I'll see you guys out there!" Hearing her hurried footsteps, I knew that Cana had fled the room. With the door open, I could tell that the guild hall was unusually quiet too. I had been wondering how soon Erza and Natsu were supposed to fight.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, yeah," I waved off the pain I felt on my head. "It's not bad, really. At least it wasn't a barrel this time…or one of those Godzilla monsters. I seem to be running into those a little too often." I mumbled the last part.

Mira laughed, hearing my words. Lucy grabbed my arm and pulled me back to my feet. "Shall we go watch then?" Mira suggested. "You can place a bet if you want. I'm sure that everyone's already there!"

"I think I'll pass on this one. I'm planning on finishing up here and then doing some training, but don't let me stop you."

Erza was supposed to get arrested anyways.

"You know, I think Cana was right," Lucy stated. "Do you ever take a break?"

"This is my break." I motioned to the room with my hand. "But if you mean hanging out with people, well…"

"It is Finn," Mira added. "Other than practicing magic, she doesn't like doing much else."

"Could have fooled me," Lucy doubted. "Come on, I'll help you with this later. Come with us." She smiled and I rubbed the back of my head, surveying the mess I just made. Part of me didn't feel like dealing with it at the moment. Maybe Cana was right. A break would do me good.

"You've convinced me," I admitted defeat.

"Great! They're out on Main Street by the way. I've just got to grab something and I'll meet you out there," Mira said dismissing herself. "And Finn, try not to drop anything else, okay?"

"I'll keep it in mind." I called behind her.

"We should probably get going too. I—oh, what's this?" Lucy stopped midsentence. "It looks like a cube." I turned to her as she kneeled, reaching over to pick up something off the ground. Faint recognition sparked through my mind and I held out my hand. She silently complied and passed it over.

"No way…" I whispered in awe. Gingerly cradling the small object in my palm, I couldn't help the wide grin crossing my face. It was a glass cube which contained a dark orb at its center. The glass itself was slightly cracked, but nonetheless I was excited.

"You know what it is?" Lucy asked curiously.

That was when I burst out laughing. Closing my fingers around the cube, I felt tears prickling the side of my eyes. "I can't believe he would have lost this," I bellowed. I could feel a cramp forming in my side before I began to catch my breath. Sighing, I realized how confused Lucy looked. "It's called Judgment Field," I supplied. "It…It belonged to a friend of mine."

Yuri's favorite A Class Secret Treasure.

Instantly, I forgot everything that I had been doing and trailed off in thought. How in the world it managed to wind up in a tiny little box with other junk was beyond me. Yuri always kept it on his person and I had the slightest feeling that he had somehow misplaced it. That or maybe Precht had gotten tired of his little games and hid it from him.

I snickered at the thought.

"It looks like it needs to be patched up, but…Ah, I'm rambling," I noted, placing the cube in my pocket. "We should go. Natsu and Erza might have started fighting already." Without waiting, I started walking and Lucy followed.

I was never fond of the treasure before. In fact, I downright hated it and I had the slightest feeling that I wasn't the only one. But now that it was in my hands, there was no telling what I could do with it. It was like a sudden rush of power. Maybe this was what Yuri felt when he had it.

And I was willing to bet that nobody knew about the annoying game of his.

"So…You said it belonged to a friend of yours?" Lucy broke the silence as we walked through the guild hall. It was oddly empty of its usual inhabitants. "Is he in the guild too?"

"Yes, well…" I hesitated for a moment trying to find the right words. "Actually, it's kinda complicated."

"Oh," Lucy responded simply.

"Where has everyone wandered off to?" Makarov's voice cut in.

Lucy and I stopped in our tracks and turned around. A faint rumble could be heard echoing outside the guild. "It sounds like they're starting," Lucy guessed. Another rumble sounded to confirm what she said. Makarov seemed confused, however. He cleared his throat as I was about to say something to Lucy.

"Oh yeah," I realized. "I'm pretty sure everyone is out front watching Natsu and Erza duke it out. Come to think of it, that might not be so good for Magnolia."

"WHAT?!"

There was a loud boom that shook the hall, and before I knew it Makarov had dashed out the door. Lucy and I shared a look before running out after him. It was then that a single thought popped into my mind.

Some things could wait.

I had been wondering about Zeref's connection with the other founders, but the answers could wait. I would let Lucy and the rest take care of Galuna Island and then sit back and watch for a bit. I couldn't remember the last time I did something like that.

* * *

…

Something surprising had happened.

Erza didn't get arrested.

Makarov rushed out of the guild and demanded the fight be stopped much to everyone's disappointment—especially Natsu. The damage was minimal, but Makarov didn't want them to risk destroying anything. With two powerhouses like Erza and Natsu, it was definitely a wise decision. Then all of the members of Fairy Tail had returned to the guild hall and Erza was one of them. Nobody came to arrest her.

Was I mistaken then?

Two days later and I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. It didn't strike me as important, really.

"I've been told that if you frown too much, your face will get stuck that way." I remarked. Natsu was sitting across from me, scowling at the table. Piping hot food sat in front of him, but to my surprise it remained un-eaten. Natsu still hadn't got over what happened.

"I would have had it," He grumbled. "Why did Gramps have to get in the way?"

"That's a lame excuse, flame-for-brain," Gray scoffed. "Erza whooped your ass and she would have done it anyway without Gramp's help."

"Oh yeah?!" Natsu rose up to his feet and I could already see the sparks flying.

When I said that Makarov demanded the fight to be stopped, I forgot to mention that Erza interpreted it differently. She ended it alright and she did it by practically slamming Natsu into the ground…after he tried continuing the fight. Technically Gray was right, however. Erza won, but I don't think that she agreed with that. In fact, the moment we entered the guild, she went off on a job somewhere.

Maybe they were both bummed out? Then again, it was nearly impossible for anyone to get a good read on Erza and her emotions.

No, she was probably indifferent.

"Those two are at it again?" Lucy sighed in dismay.

"Yup," Happy chirped as he gnawed on a fish.

"That's progress at least," I surmised. My eyebrows creased; there was a nasty headache forming in the back of my head. Beside me, Lucy yawned while Gray and Natsu continued bickering.

"Hey, do you feel like going on a job?" She asked.

"Not going to ask Natsu?" I responded rubbing my forehead. "Aren't you guys on the same team though?"

"I just want to go on a simple job. That's a little difficult with those two." Lucy motioned to Natsu and Happy. "It'll only take—"

She abruptly stopped in the middle of her sentence, a look of drowsiness overcoming her face. The next thing I knew, Lucy fell over. And so did Gray and Natsu. The next thing I knew, I was closing in on the ground too, a heavy weight taking over my eyes. The headache worsened and it was like a hammer was being smashed over my head.

And like everybody else, my eyes shut as well. Right before that, however, I could hear quiet footsteps. My mind was in a haze, and I couldn't remember anything that happened in between that. There was just the sound of the blood thrumming through my head. What had to have been only a few seconds passed like minutes.

Then, I could hear the footsteps again as if someone had snapped their fingers. I willed myself to open my eyes and when I did, I found myself starring at a pair of sandals that had stopped right next to me.

There was a voice that spoke, and I heard Makarov respond, but I was too groggy to hear them—too distracted by the pain. Raising my eyes up off the ground, I managed to catch a glimpse of Mystogan's cloaked face. But as soon as I blinked, he had disappeared from sight. Much to my relief, however, the headache was gone too.

Everybody started waking up again.

Taking a deep breath, my mind focused again. I looked towards Makarov where he sat at the bar and he returned my gaze briefly.

"This feeling…it's Mystogan?"

"That bastard."

"His sleep magic is stronger than ever."

"Mystogan?" Lucy repeated blearily.

"He's in the running for the strongest man in Fairy Tail," Elfman explained to her.

"For whatever reason, he doesn't want anyone to see him. He puts everyone to sleep like this whenever he takes a job," Gray added.

"No way! That's so suspicious," Lucy commented in disbelief. Bracing the table, I slowly stood up. I could feel my legs buckling beneath me.

"What's the matter with you?" Gray asked giving me a curious glance. "You look like there's been a blizzard."

"Nothing," I replied shaking my head. "Just sleepy is all."

"Wait, so has nobody seen his face?" Lucy questioned curiously.

"Only our master has," Gray responded turning back to Lucy.

"No, I have," a familiar voice cut in. Automatically my eyes drifted up to the guild's second floor. Laxus stood there and looked down at us with all of his arrogance. He causally leaned against the rail, a smirk on his lips.

"Laxus?" Someone asked.

"That's a rare sight," I heard someone else mumble.

"There's another candidate for the strongest member," Gray commented flatly.

"Mystogan is shy. Don't be too nosy," Laxus continued smugly. On cue, Natsu's eyes snapped open. I had barely noticed that he was still sleeping on the floor from the spell earlier. The fire wizard sprang to his feet, a renewed vigor in his eyes.

"Laxus, fight me!" he demanded.

"You just lost to Erza," Gray shot at him.

"That's right," Laxus added. "You don't stand a chance against me if you can't even beat Erza."

I snorted.

"We'll see about that," I said quietly. Natsu would beat him alright, not that Laxus knew.

I wasn't as quiet as I thought, however. Laxus' gaze flickered to me, but he seemed unaffected by my words. "That means that I'm the strongest there is," he claimed.

"Come down here, you jerk!" Natsu shouted to him.

"You come up," Laxus challenged.

"Fine by me!"

Before I could even blink, Natsu shot past me, heading straight for Laxus. And right on time, Makarov reached out, smashing Natsu into the ground before he could reach the second floor. "You are not allowed on the second floor," Makarov explained calmly. "Not yet."

"You got yourself in trouble," Laxus prodded.

"Laxus, that's enough out of you." Makarov still had Natsu pinned to the ground. I couldn't see him, but I certainly heard him struggling.

"That title belongs to me and I won't let anyone take it," Laxus boasted. "Not even Erza or Mystogan."

I felt a vein pop on the side of my head. "Okay, we get it thunder boy," I snipped loudly. "But don't be surprised if you're proven otherwise." Laxus burst out laughing and I scowled.

"I don't think that's helping," Lucy whispered.

"That is never going to change," He finished.

Change?

Wouldn't he be surprised if he knew what I did.

* * *

…

Things at the guild changed the next morning. As soon as I set foot in the hall, I could hear people whispering quietly amongst themselves. The atmosphere had turned serious, something that was a rare sight to see. Almost everyone seemed to be looking to Makarov for reassurance. The old guild master himself sat in his normal spot on the bar, his eyes shut and an expression of contemplation on his face.

"Reedus, what did I miss?" I walked over to the closest person I knew. He stood not too far from Wakaba and Macao, the two of whom were talking. The painter glanced over at me before speaking in a hushed whisper.

"For one thing, an s-class job request is missing," He said.

"What kind of dummy would run off with that?" A girl with purple scolded. I think her name was Laki.

"—A cat," Laxus interrupted smugly. "A cat with wings took off with it."

"Happy?!" Mira cried out in shock. As soon as Laxus spoke, there was an uproar throughout the guild. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together that Natsu and Lucy had been the ones behind it. I made my way over to Makarov who was definitely not pleased by the turn of events. Mira glanced at me, a look of worry on her face…No, anger.

She began to head up the stairs, but I grabbed her arm and tried to calm her down.

"This is a serious breach of the rules," Laxus continued. "Gramps, you're kicking them out the moment they get back, I assume? Tough. Given their skill level, I doubt they'll come back alive from an S-class job…"

Mira looked like she wanted to say something, but Makarov cut her off.

"What job flyer was taken?"

"The cursed island of Galuna," Mira responded gravely.

"—What!" Makarov exclaimed and leaped off the bar. "Laxus! Go bring them back!"

"Don't be silly, I have my own work to attend to."

"Why didn't you stop them?" Mira accused. "You knew."

"All I knew was that a sneaky cat had run off with paper in its mouth. It was none of my concern what it was doing, let alone Natsu. Besides, members of the guild are supposed to take care of themselves. Right?" Laxus suggested

Makarov snapped.

"Out of everyone here, who else besides you can bring Natsu back by force?!"

"Gramps," Gray interrupted. Everyone's eyes shifted to him as he stood up from his seat, a solemn expression on his face. "I can't let that comment go. I'll bring them back before they even leave Hargeon."

There was no stopping him.

Without waiting for any response, Gray abruptly darted off, leaving us all to stare at his retreating figure. Hazarding a glance at Makarov, his serious demeanor had subsided into concern and anger. It didn't help that I could still feel a wave of ire washing off of Mira, even if it was directed at Laxus.

The heavy atmosphere was too much.

"How much do you want to bet that Gray gets dragged along for the ride?" I joked lightly before my smile sank. "Master, don't worry about it. When Erza returns, she'll go after them and bring them back. No harm done."

"Finn…" Mira began uncertainly. "You didn't see it yet?"

"See what?" I asked cluelessly.

"Erza…she was arrested yesterday on the council's orders," She announced quietly. "It was in the papers this morning and we don't know when she'll be back."

I froze up where I stood before whipping around, slamming my hands on the bar. "Please tell me that you are joking," I deadpanned. "There wasn't even any reason for it. What, did they accuse her of destroying Clover or something? That's a pretty lame excuse for the council to frame a Fairy Tail member if you ask me."

The look on Mira's face told me I hit the nail on the head, and I felt a groan leave my throat. "Okay, that's fine… It's just a temporary thing; she'll probably be coming back soon anyways."

Or would she? It couldn't be risked. Without Erza around, there was no telling what could go wrong.

Shaking my head, I turned to Makarov. "Well, if you can't rely on Laxus, then that means that I'll have to go," I volunteered reluctantly.

"—I can't let you do that," Makarov answered sternly. "If Natsu and Lucy take Gray with them as you said, it cannot be risked. That request is well out of your league. Only exceptionally powerful wizards can undertake it and live."

"I am well aware of that, but I've also got the best shot at keeping them alive," I retorted. Biting my lip, I moved closer to the old man and lowered my voice. "Look, I know that Galuna is an island of demons. I understand the situation there better than you can imagine. Erza will still have to come, but until then I have to be the one to keep the damage in check. All I am asking is that you trust me, Master. Nothing you say will change my mind."

Makarov seemed to think about my words, but I could tell that he didn't like them no matter how convincing I sounded. Was I using my prior knowledge? Of course. And was I also playing my founder card? Maybe.

But it had to be done.

I should have known that not everything was going to be picture perfect. Up until now, everything had been going according to canon in my book, even if there were minor changes. Now, I was going to have to try my hardest to steer it back in the right direction.

"Then… I will not stop you," Makarov said begrudgingly.

"Master—!" Mira began, but she stopped when he held up his hand.

"Be aware, however, that this decision rests on your hands alone." Makarov finally said. "And whatever follows will be your responsibility."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way," I said confidently meeting his eyes. "Give me three days, maybe four and you will see all of us again, so kick back and relax. Just try not to be too hard on those four when they get back." Turning away, I sent a wave over my shoulder as I made my way to the door, ignoring the warnings from the other guild members.

I was not about to mess this up and with any luck, I was going to set things straight.

Knowing that I still had time, I decided to go back to my apartment. Upon approaching the brick building, I spotted the familiar figure of its landowner Nina. She was hunched over the rose bushes in the front wearing her usual red sunhat. I called out to her in greeting, and she turned to me with a gentle smile.

"Going off on another adventure?" She inqured.

"Yes Miss Nina," I answered politely. "I just came by to grab a few things before leaving. I'll probably be gone a few days."

"I would love to hear about it when you return, but do be careful," She cautioned.

"You got it," I responded cheerfully. Walking past her, I opened the door and headed up the stairs.

Nina was a sweet old lady, and she kind of reminded of my own grandmother from what I could remember of her. And Nina understood my situation and knew who I was. I was comfortable around the old woman, and I was grateful to have her. I didn't know when or if I would feel like telling anyone else about what I had gone through, but Nina made things a little easier.

She would always ask how I was and loved listening to any stories I had to tell.

Unlocking my door, I headed over to my dresser and pulled open the top drawer. The first thing I saw inside was my picture. Moving it aside, I grabbed ahold of a carefully folded paper as well as a pouch of money I had stashed to the side. Unfolding the paper, I placed it on the table and studied it quietly.

It was a detailed map of Fiore, something I had scribbled circles all over. Along with all of my research, I had taken the time to detail a map with key information about different locations. Figuring out the exact location of Galuna Island had taken awhile, but I found it sure enough. The coordinates were scribbled next to the island in a red circle.

After memorizing it, I folded the map back up and replaced it in the drawer. Before I closed the dresser, however, I spotted Judgment Field resting in the corner. I traced a finger over it before deciding to bring it along for luck, tucking it away in my pocket. I took one last look around the room to make sure I had grabbed everything.

I stepped out of the house, but before I continued I hesitated. Turning my head, I looked around. The only person I could see was Nina, and she was busy with her gardening. Shrugging my shoulders, I began to head out towards the train station.

I couldn't shake the odd feeling that I was being watched.

* * *

…

There was a delay at the train station.

But after about an hour of waiting, the problem was fixed. People broke out into cheers. I boarded the train and it quickly left the station behind. To pass the time, I pulled out a magic handbook from one of my pockets and studied it. If I wasn't doing anything, I made it a habit to figure out new techniques.

By the time the train pulled into Hargeon, the sun was starting to set on the horizon. Wasting no time, I headed for the docks. Since I knew that there would be no one willing to take me to the island, I found a small boat to rent along with navigation tools. The small boat wasn't a problem, as Galuna Island was significantly closer than Tenrou. There was no need to cram it full of supplies meant to last more than a week.

It would take only three hours if I used my magic as a propeller to get it moving, and that was more than enough time saved.

As I loaded some things onto the little dinghy, I froze when a voice spoke up behind me.

"You certainly took your time getting to Hargeon," a smug voice criticized. "I was beginning to wonder if you decided to back out."

I turned around slowly.

"Laxus," I spoke to him, holding back a biting tone. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me that you decided to help out of the goodness of your own heart."

Laxus' expression was flat, and he looked as if he was burning a hole right through me. There was even something about his magic that put me on edge. It was more unsettled than usual. Suddenly, I didn't feel too good about his presence, but I wasn't going to let him know that. If anything, it told me that I did something to make him agitated, and that was a first.

"You might have the rest of those idiots fooled, but I know that there is something you are hiding."

"And I can probably imagine how you unmasked Mystogan, poor guy," I countered smartly. "Ease up on the electricity, will you? We're right next to water, and I'd appreciate not getting fried."

He scowled slightly.

"So you do know Mystogan," He concluded.

I pursed my lips in confusion. "I might know about him, but what are you getting at?" I held up a hand and stopped myself. "No, on second thought, that can wait. I have to get going, or else I might be late."

"Late you say?" Laxus mocked. "That reminds me, just how does a weakling like you know anything about Galuna Island? And how is it that you twisted the old man around your fingers?"

It was then that I realized something.

Laxus felt…threatened?

My, have the tables turned?

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hopping into the boat, I began to work at the knot that secured it to the dock. Laxus in the meantime crossed his arms. "Look, no need to ruffle your coat tails," I conceded. "Go and 'attend' to whatever work you have and I'll take care of mine. Besides, if you're worried, Erza will be coming sooner or later."

"You seem to be confident that she will," Laxus noted.

I hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

"I need to get going. The longer we talk, the more time is wasted."

"Yes," Laxus agreed curtly. "And perhaps I can lend a hand."

What?

Laxus reached out and grabbed my arm and I winced at the pain I felt.

Without warning, I felt his magic flare up. A bright light entered my vision and I realized with a start that my body was being swallowed up by electricity. I crept across my arms, and wrapped around me tightly. Before I could yank myself away, I felt my body being tugged forward. My vision blacked out briefly and I was reminded of something that I wanted to forget.

The last time I felt that sensation…

In the next moment, I felt sand crunching underneath my shoes. My stomach was twisted in knots and I was digging my fingernails into my hands. Blinking rapidly, my vision cleared, revealing a tropical island in front of me. I bent over to control my breath, and hopefully not throw up my stomach.

"Well, aren't you going to thank me?" Laxus' arrogant voice called.

I whipped around and glared. Without thinking, I lashed out at him and tried to hit him. "Don't…you…dare…do that again…" I threatened. Before I could connect my fist to his face, however, Laxus easily grabbed ahold of my hand.

"You've never traveled by magic before, have you?" Laxus laughed in amusement. "It is much faster than normal means of travel, but maybe you're too weak to handle it."

Regaining my composure, I straightened out my jacket.

"I'm not that weak," I shot back. "If I wanted to, I could do that on my own without your help. It's not the first time I've done something like that." And now that Laxus had done that, I certainly knew how it felt. With that in mind, recreating it was theoretically not a problem…but I didn't feel comfortable with it.

"Now," I tsked, "If you don't mind, get going. I've got things to do."

"And it just so happens that I've got time on my hands," Laxus announced suddenly. "I think I'll stick around a while longer."

Thankfully, Laxus disappeared in a flash of light. Nodding my head, I huffed slightly. At least that was over with. I needed to be more careful with how I acted, especially around him. Laxus was suspicious of me alright.

And now he was on Galuna Island…

Fantastic.

* * *

...

Author's note: And so Galuna Island begins. Finn didn't think much about hurrying back to Magnolia and look what happened. Now she's going to try and get things back on track, but it won't be easy. Sorry for the long delay, but what can I say? Exams, holidays, and re-grouting floors of all things...Speaking of which, Happy New Years! I'm hoping to get my stuff together to get a better (more solid) update schedule. For now, I'll say that I'll update once a month at least. I'll just have to see where my muse takes me.

Thank you so much to all of my readers! You guys help motivate me to keep writing and improving, and I couldn't write without you. Feel free to leave any comments and tell me what you think! Thanks to my Beta **shadowjab17** for helping me get the ball rolling again.

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

...

I kept my breathing steady and held a watchful gaze.

Everything was going smoothly so far. I had arrived early enough to Galuna Island to see Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Happy enter the small walled off village of the demons. None of them had really taken notice of the extra pair of eyes watching them. It was only Lucy who glanced over her shoulder once. It was thanks to a tweak of the light that I was able to observe them without being spotted.

And when the four had turned in for the night, I did too. Finding a few edibles, I picked a spot and camped out, locating a hidden nook to sleep underneath the roots of a large tree. With my mind still going a mile a minute, sleep hardly made me feel rested.

Right when the sun appeared on the horizon, I went back at it again.

The young wizards set out into the surrounding jungle early, and I stuck close behind them. Hours pass by. At last, they had reached the stone temple and everything seemed to be going well.

"Keh," Laxus grumbled, "All of that talk and you've done nothing but cower and hide. Afraid of rodents of unusual size?"

Letting go of the branches I had been holding onto, I slipped back to the ground, my feet landing with a solid thump. Laxus was sitting in one of the branches as well, a hand resting on his chin and the other thrumming out a bored rhythm on his knee. Picking the leaves out of my hair, I canceled my magical camouflage and began to stretch out my legs.

I had taken to the trees just in time when the giant rat monster Angelica came into sight. Out of the group, Natsu and Gray noticed her first. The ice wizard tried to act quickly and put up a shield right as the rat spewed out what looked like a bad breath attack. Thankfully, it had all settled along the ground and didn't linger in the air.

"It's called observing, but then again I never took you for the patient type," I quipped to Laxus. "In fact, I'm surprised you've even stuck around this long." Not even glancing to see if he would follow, I started trailing away, making my way closer to the temple.

Annoyingly enough, Laxus actually showed dedication to sticking around. The distance was kept between us, however, as he had disappeared several times over the past few hours. For all I knew, he probably booked it to a hotel the other night. That aside, it still didn't get rid of the feeling that he was breathing down my back…which probably wasn't a good sign.

Maybe the fact that no information existed about me bothered him.

Walking into a small clearing, I didn't have to turn my head to know that, sure enough, Laxus was following. No matter how powerful a wizard he was, he was still heavy footed. And with how tall he was, I struggled not to laugh when he got wacked in the head with a few branches as we crept underneath the trees.

I stopped to have a closer look at Angelica the rat. It was sprawled out on the ground, complete with a maid uniform. If not for the gray fur and the clothing, I felt that the rat could have easily been mistaken for a large bear. "Where anyone could find a rat this big, I have no idea," I commented.

Laxus looked as if he was going to respond, but he was stopped by a rumbling noise in the distance. Lucy's scream that followed was faintly audible coming from the direction of the tall, Aztec-like temple situated only a few feet away—the moon temple. I frowned at the noise, but secretly I was pleased. Maybe the only thing I would have to do is keep an eye on Lucy and make sure that she didn't get crushed by Angelica later on.

All bets were off about Erza being there, but it was no big deal.

I could help.

If not…well, I didn't want to think about that.

There was a small voice of worry in my mind, but I found my feet dragging me under the shadow of the stone building. Up the stairs I went, and soon the bright sunlight that bathed the island gave way into cool darkness and my eyes struggled to adjust to the change. The air was damp too, smelling of moss. It was a welcome change from the heat.

"So this is the Moon Temple…It's…mossy," I said dryly. "This kind of thing certainly brings back some memories." The only interesting thing about the ruins was the small moon carvings that adorned the wall. Other than that, there was nothing else worth noting. Gray stone blocks made up both the walls and the floors, and were covered in numerous cracks and stains. And after a few seconds of scanning, my eyes landed on the gaping hole where the floor gave out.

Behind me, Laxus growled.

"I don't have time for this."

"Well neither do—"

"—who are you people?!" A sharp voice interrupted.

I turned around fast, and my eyes darted over to the source of the voice. And it was just over Laxus' shoulder that I could see a swath of deep pink hair. A young woman stood in the entryway a few feet behind Laxus. I moved closer towards Laxus, keeping a wary gaze on the unwelcomed guest.

Or...maybe we were the unwelcomed guests.

"Are you the ones responsible for hurting my poor Angelica?" She snipped harshly. Her expression held a fire to it as she silently observed us for a moment, but I held my gaze. "I will not stand for intruders!"

Sherry Blendy.

Of course things wouldn't be that easy.

"Hey Laxus, we need to…" I paused and quickly began searching for a solution. Sherry didn't remain still, however. In a sudden burst of speed, she began to cast a spell, and the walls began to shake Beside me, Laxus stirred, and I could feel faint static in the air. "What are you doing? Laxus—No! Wait!"

Unable to stop him, Laxus disappeared in a flurry of yellow light.

The next thing I knew, he stood behind Sherry's back. I stared in disbelief as the young woman collapsed to the ground, not even letting out a gasp of surprise. Shaking out of my own shock, I ran over to them and kneeled to the ground beside Sherry. Checking for a pulse, I tried to steady my own heart and calm down.

"She's not dead," Laxus stated as if it were obvious.

"Be quiet!" I demanded. Moving my fingers along her wrist, I breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, I could feel a faint pulse. Laxus had just knocked her out, and I didn't even see it happen.

"I will do what I want. Besides, why should you care about a mere stranger, hm?"

"I don't," I retorted, dropping her hand back on the ground. "I just don't want you messing with things around here!"

"Ah, but you are standing idly while I grow bored," Laxus said with a sneer. "Perhaps I should just leave…Or maybe I will take a look around this island. It finally has my interest if there is a _vermin_ infestation." He looked down at Sherry, nudging her with his foot.

"Would you just…"

I shivered slightly.

Something was wrong.

Laxus stopped what he was doing. The shadow in the temple seemed to get darker, and I glanced up at him as he turned around. "You felt it too?" I asked in a hushed tone. But he wasn't going to respond, I could tell. That was when I felt a familiar sensation I hadn't felt in a while. Instantly, there were alarm bells going off in my head.

 _Crack!_

The sudden noise got our attention, and I jolted to my feet.

"Well, well," Laxus spoke up. "Now there _is_ something entertaining." His gaze was fixed somewhere. A familiar porcelain white mask stood out against the far wall, not too far from where we were standing.

"Him?!" I shouted in dismay.

It was the masked man from Era.

The one the Rune Knights were after.

"But why is he here?" I asked myself quietly. More than a dozen thoughts began to fill my mind, and I struggled to silence them. It all boiled down to one coherent message: I caused it somehow. The Masked man was probably here because of me. Well, that's certainly how the cookie crumbles, isn't it?

"I don't care," Laxus answered me bluntly. Static crawled at his fingertips, wrapping around his arms. His focus was aimed at the mask that seemed to be staring in our direction. "So you're the infamous masked man. Tell me, what sort of power do you hold?"

Laxus' words hung on the air.

A hissing noise cut through the silence, and I realized that it was coming from the masked man; he was laughing. "Now, now…What a mess I've stumbled on," A raspy voice drawled tauntingly. "Two trespassers have gone and knocked out the girl, now what shall I do? No…what should I do about _her_ first?"

"You actually have a voice…" I said in disbelief.

If my mouth had dropped open, I didn't catch it. The Mask ignored me, and even though I couldn't see his actual face, I had the feeling that his eyes were fixed on Sherry. A cold chill went down my spine, and he took a silent step forward. In response I retreated a step back, echoing his motion. But then I remembered the girl at my feet. Reaching down, I grabbed ahold of Sherry's arm, slinging it across my shoulder.

Pulling with all of my strength, I dragged her further away from the mask, effectively putting the two of us behind Laxus. Only then did I stop and assess the situation and it wasn't good. The only exit was blocked, leaving only one way out…down the hole behind us. This only seemed to amuse the masked man who laughed even louder. Then he seemed to focus his attention on me.

"No need to act that way, I just wanted to have some fun."

Hearing his words, Laxus finally decided to speak up. "Then I've decided," he announced in response. "Leave this one to _me_ and stay out of my way."

"Wait, what?!" I shouted.

Laxus glanced over his shoulder.

"You heard me," he said bluntly. "Run along and continue playing your little game elsewhere." I could hear another laugh escape from behind the mask. It was as if he was enjoying himself. And as if it encouraged him, Laxus turned around, a scheming look on his face. Seeing it, I took a another step back and almost lost my balance.

Throwing a cautious glance behind me, I noticed just how close I stood to the edge of the gaping hole in the stone floor. One small move and I would go down—both me and the person I was supporting. I looked back at Laxus uncertainly. "Hold on, now let's not be too hasty! Let's not destroy this place, okay? That would be bad—really bad!"

It would draw attention.

Laxus paused for a moment a scheming spark in his eyes, and I gulped. "What are you thinking? Hey?" I asked hesitantly. There was something threatening about the step he took in my direction.

"You are lucky that I am feeling generous today," Laxus said haughtily. He leaned in closer towards my face, and my expression faltered.

"Can you back off?!"

And before I could even blink, something happened.

The floor was suddenly gone from beneath my feet.

I was falling.

* * *

…

The physics in the world of Fairy Tail continued to amaze me.

It couldn't have been much time before I snapped out of my own stupor. I groaned having crash landed on a not so soft bed of rocks at the bottom of a stone cavern. Above me, the top of the hole could not be seen. That was when I felt a surge of anger and I crawled back onto my feet. Dusting myself off, I glared up as if I could still see the target of my rage.

Laxus had pushed me.

The thoughts in my mind were conflicting. Part of me wanted to go back up there and deliver payback and another wanted to run from the Mask. And then there was that part—an even louder thought—that told me to continue following Natsu and the rest. I needed to refocus and not worry about the small things at the moment. "Jackass," I hissed. "At least you're too overpowered to die."

I listened to my own words for a second.

And then I smiled.

There were two pieces on the island that didn't belong; two new players. And if Laxus wanted to fight the mask, then who was I to interfere? Because after all, that meant they would be kept busy. Laxus would be off my tail and the masked man would be preoccupied (and hopefully driven off) by him.

Two birds with one stone, and I was beginning to see better of my own luck.

At least Laxus had a chance of keeping him busy.

Yes, that could be dealt with later.

Beside me, something groaned. I looked down with a start, having forgotten all about Sherry. It looked as if the girl was already coming to which meant I had to get out of there. There was shouting too, and it echoed from down the long tunnel that led away from the cave.

Standing stock still, I held my breath and realized that I had forgotten about the other people who were with Sherry, a dog like guy and a short blue haired guy. Snapping out of my shock, I barely reacted in time. I ran forward and pressed up against the wall, and twisting the light around me and allowing my magic to cloak me from sight.

And not a moment too soon.

That was when Sherry's other two companions came dashing by, heading right for her. I slowly backed away from them, inching down the tunnel. Sherry was definitely awake now, sitting up and looking dazed as if she had woken up from a nap. Given a few more minutes, she would probably be up and causing problems in no time.

Maybe things would pan out okay.

With that in mind, I turned heel, not waiting to listen in on the other two's reactions. Traveling down the winding tunnel, I strained my eyes to see in the dim lighting. Normally I would use my magic, but using light magic in the dark was more taxing, and I needed to save as much strength as I could. A few more turns and it wasn't long, however, until I began to see a faint light emulating from the end of the tunnel.

Slowing down, I approached cautiously, peeking around the corner.

My vision was assaulted by a strong, glaring light, and my ears were greeted not by silence, but by faint, sweet singing. And then what was in front of me became clear. What my eyes landed on first, was the hulking mass of ice occupying the center of a grand cavern. In it was a massive creature that was the same size, if not bigger, than the demon flute Lullaby. Before my eyes was Deliora, another one of Zeref's creations.

Standing closer to it, I could see Gray, Natsu, and Lucy. One of Lucy's celestial spirits sat with a harp and was strumming a soft melody.

Shutting my eyes, I waited and listened to the spirit. The music felt soothing and it washed over my senses. But just as soon as it had begun, the song ended, and the cavern became silent again. Sighing, I shook my head and started to make my way towards the group. There was no point of hiding in the shadows when they were my only ticket out.

Having made up my mind, I tentatively began to approach them, one step in front of the other. Summoning up the courage to announce myself, my voice stuttered and then I tried clearing my throat. It echoed very loudly, and all of a sudden I had the attention of everyone in the cavern. Well, aside from the demon. Taking it as a cue, I smiled at them and waved.

But their reactions were strange. As if time had halted, everything was silent and a staring contest ensued. They remained rooted where they were and even Happy remained uncharacteristically quiet. It clicked in my mind that the looks on their faces were…shock, fright, and confusion?

"GHOST!" Happy finally screamed.

"I knew something was watching us!" Lucy shrieked.

What?

"Take that!"

The blonde landed a sucker punch right in my stomach before I could even respond, and I sprawled out on the ground, groaning in dismay. "Hey wait a second!" Natsu interrupted. Lucy paused to glance at him. The fire wizard sniffed the air before a cheeky grin appeared on his face. "I told you it was Finn yelling! I told you, ice brain! I was right!"

"Shut it," Gray quipped at Natsu. "We need to be quiet! Do you want them to hear us?"

"Finn?" Lucy asked skeptically.

"Hey, thanks for that Natsu," I mumbled my thanks.

"It really _is_ you," Lucy stated in realization. I got back up to my feet once more, feeling an aching pain coming on. There was still a puzzled look on Lucy's face as she continued speaking. "Ah, I'm so sorry! But, wait…Why can't we see you?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

"We can't see anything except a shadow," Gray offered impatiently.

And then I realized something.

"I am an idiot," I complained out loud. Shutting my eyes, I ended my spell, the camouflage fading away. "That's probably better, right?"

"Hah! I knew it!" Happy proclaimed as he jumped out from behind Natsu. "It was Finn all along!"

"Please," Lucy snorted.

"Awesome!" Natsu cheered. "Do you know how many pranks you could pull with that?"

"Why are you here?" Gray cut in, ignoring Natsu.

"I'm here to keep an eye on you guys until Erza can get here."

"Erza?" Lucy mumbled under her breath.

Gray's eyes narrowed, a look of either anger or skepticism on his face. "You mean to tell me that Gramps let you come here? It's an S-class job. Why would he send _you_? You've barely been with the guild for a few months." His words sounded bitter. My mind was telling me that it was probably because of Deliora that he was acting that way, but I couldn't help but flinch at his heavy tone.

"Why are you being such a jerk?" Natsu asked casually.

I clenched my fist and steeled my gaze. "Erza's gotten a little caught up in some things, but you wouldn't know, would you?" I responded firmly. "Minor setback, but if you're that unhappy, Erza will be here eventually to forcibly drag you guys back to the guild. At that point, none of this will matter, so I suggest you take my help for the time being. We can put a stop to this before anything happens."

Gray held my gaze and then wavered a bit. He shook his head, turning his attention back towards Deliora. "Then…We need to fix this before things get out of hand, and I don't meant Erza," Gray answered reluctantly.

"What are you talking about? I thought that Erza coming here would be a good thing," Lucy voiced her thoughts. "I hate to say it, but I think we could—"

"—what? No way," Natsu interrupted. "We can handle this S-class job easy! Besides, now we've got Finn on our team!"

"You idiot," Gray shouted at Natsu. "Don't you see? This isn't a game!" His words echoed loudly in the cavern. There was a tension in the air so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Lucy looked uncertainly at the monster towering over us while Natsu and Gray were at each other's throats, threatening to break out in a fight.

"Unfortunately, he's right you know," I responded. "It's another one of Zeref's demons, isn't it? It certainly looks like it. And whoever is here is trying to melt it out of the ice, right?" I chose my words carefully. There was no way I would spill any information they didn't already know. Basing it off of what state Gray was in at the moment, it was not a wise idea.

Anyone could have guessed what I pointed out, and that was safe to say.

"It's Deliora," Gray said through gritted teeth. "Fine then," he relented. "I'll use what help we can get. For now…we better stay quiet. We don't want to be found by those other guys."

Natsu shrugged his shoulders in response and sat down on a nearby rock. He yawned before leaning back with his harms folded behind his head. "Since we're waiting here, might as well take a nap." Gray sat down further away from us, his attention on the demon in the ice. Turning away from him, I moved to sit by Lucy and her celestial spirit.

Her name was apparently Lyra.

I listened to them talk quietly while I pulled out the small handbook in my pocket. Flipping open the pages, I started to get lost in the pages of notes, absentmindedly flexing my fingers and fiddling with magic.

There was a faint, pinpricking sensation in the tips of my fingers, but I didn't pay it any mind.

* * *

…

A rumbling noise woke us up. I didn't even realize that I had fallen asleep before the ground started shaking all around us. Forgetting where I was, I almost thought that the cave was going to collapse. That was when a purple beam of light flickered to life, illuminating the cavern in a purple glow, and I realized that time had flown by fast.

It was nighttime already.

In a hurry, Natsu and the others began racing down the tunnel away from Deliora in order to figure out the source of the mysterious light. It wasn't long until we came across some stairs and, before I knew it, we were greeted by the night sky. In front of us was a group of people dressed like cultists gathered around a magic circle. They stood in a formation and were chanting undiscernible words.

In order to avoid being spotted, we ducked behind a row of stones and watched from afar.

"Okay, why are they wearing grocery bags on their heads?" I asked.

"Dunno, it looks stupid," Natsu stated, his eyes fixing on them. "I think those robed freaks are chanting some spell to collect the moonlight."

Remaining silent after that, I continued watching and half listened to what Natsu and Lucy were whispering. Lyra chimed in like she was supposed to, informing us about the moondrip spell being performed before us. Gray snapped at her when she revealed that the people we were dealing with were trying to free Deliora. It seemed that everything was going according to plot.

"It's probably what's affecting the villagers," Lyra concluded.

"I'll make them pay!" Natsu nearly shouted. Lucy elbowed him in the face, causing him to fall down.

"Someone's coming!" She whispered hastily.

No sooner had she said that, all of our eyes turned towards the approaching group. Instantly, I spotted Sherry. She looked a little worse for wear, but the expression on her face didn't look phased in the least. Beside Sherry, her two companions were in tow, both the dog guy (I think his name was Toby) and the short one with the blue hair. And in front of them was a young man in a horned helmet; it was Lyon, Ur's other student. He stood at least a head taller than the rest of them.

The six of us went still, listening to the words being exchanged. "What a waste, I lost a lot of precious sleep for nothing," the one with the blue hair complained. "We searched all day for the intruders but didn't find a trace of them." To his right, Toby shouted at him, a look of irritation crossing his face.

"Maybe that's because the masked freak got rid of them!"

"Speaking of whom, Zalty needs to keep his little pet on a leash."

My brow furrowed; I knew for certain that it wasn't what he was supposed to say.

The gears in my mind started turning and I turned away from the conversation. Mask was associated with Zalty? In other words, he was connected with Ultear who was disguised as Zalty. Perhaps in some way it was connected with my interaction with her months earlier. And it was when Mask first appeared too—right after crossing her path.

Maybe it was the universe's way of balancing things out.

Maybe he _was_ my problem to deal with.

Beside me, Natsu and Lucy began whispering again, breaking me out of my thoughts while Gray watched on in silence. "So that's their leader, huh," Natsu said first. I focused my attention on Lyon, turning my thoughts elsewhere.

"He's trying to act all high and mighty," Lucy grumbled. "Wearing that that stupid looking mask."

"I think it's kinda cool," Happy added.

"Hey, do you think I could collect that?" I jokingly schemed.

We continued listening to them talk, although I might have zoned out for a moment. The gist of it was Sherry saying that Deliora would finally be free sometime either today or tomorrow. I snorted at that and shook my head; nobody knew that Ur's spell had already eaten away at Deliora. Lyon wanted to fight it, which was his main reason for trying to melt the ice in the first place.

"The time has almost come," Lyon announced calmly. "If you see those intruders again, kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way."

"I don't believe we're dealing with ordinary villagers…" Sherry suggested quietly

"If they've decided to go to a guild for help, then destroy them as well. I don't care. Anyone who stands my way is an enemy." Lyon answered coolly.

Beside me, Lucy stirred. "But the villagers don't have anything to do with this…It's us," she said woefully. Looking past Lucy, Gray almost appeared to be shaking. He recognized Lyon's voice already, without a doubt. Before I could say anything to him, however, Natsu decided to reveal our presence.

"I've had enough of this sneaking around business!" He shouted, leaping onto the ledge of the stone wall. Puffing his cheeks, Natsu spewed fire as he continued speaking. "It's not the villagers. We're the intruder's you're after!" The look on Lucy's face was priceless, meanwhile Gray looked stunned, but the look quickly vanished.

Sighing, I pulled myself up onto the ledge and put a hand on Natsu's shoulder. "You've never heard of tact before, have you?"

"You!" Sherry shrieked at me, her eyes narrowing. "Wait, I know that mark…They're from the Fairy Tail guild." I merely looked at her before shrugging my shoulders. Behind me, I heard Lucy dismissing Lyra. Both she and Gray then walked out in front of the low wall and I sat down on it, kicking my legs back and forth.

"Hey, Gray, you know this guy?" I asked, jabbing my finger in Lyon's direction. He seemed to flinch. "Something tells me I'm right."

Lyon ignored us. "You three will go take care of the village. Leave these four to me," he commanded. Sherry sputtered for a moment before biting her lip and agreeing to his words. Against four other wizards, Lyon certainly was confident. All three of them turned to leave, and Natsu began losing his patience.

"Hey, where do you think you're going," Natsu challenged.

But then it wasn't Natsu who launched the first attack. Gray did. Not giving any of us a single warning, the Ice wizard took off. Pulling his hands together, Gray launched into the air. "You're going to stop this right now!" He shouted angrily. His hands slammed into the ground and a wave of ice erupted from it and spread outward.

Lyon was just as fast, and using one hand, mimicked Gray's action. The ground shook as the waves of ice collided together, neither spell overtaking the other. Instead they shattered, and ice rained through the air. "He's an ice wizard too?!" Happy shouted out.

"Lyon!" Gray spat out. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Natsu and Lucy were rendered speechless.

"Gray. It has been awhile," Lyon responded in a monotone voice.

"Why would you revive Deliora?!"

"To think that you were one of the wizards called to this island to help those villagers. Did you come knowing you would find me?" Lyon mocked. "Or was this mere coincidence?"

"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" The blue haired guy asked. He, Toby, and Sherry were still standing behind him, distracted by the attack.

"Do as you were ordered," Lyon replied.

"Yes sir!" They answered at the same time. In what looked like a flicker or motion, they disappeared.

And that was when Natsu flipped out and started towards Lyon. "Come back here!"

"Natsu, wait! Don't go near him!" Gray tried to warn him, but Natsu didn't listen. As soon as he was barely in range of him, Lyon merely held out his hand. Natsu froze up in place—literally. Gray cringed briefly, but directed his attention to Happy as he shot a blast of ice magic towards Lyon. "Get Lucy out of here!" He commanded. Not having to be told twice, Happy grabbed the blonde and began to fly away, but Lucy wasn't too excited about it.

"You might have distracted me long enough for the girl and the cat to get away, but there is no way that those two can stop my minions." Lyon said snidely, lowering his ice shield.

"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail!" Natsu challenged, struggling to stand. Another look appeared on Gray's face, and in the blink of an eye he moved, kicking Natsu and sending him flying down the ridge we stood on. Surprise was written across his face as he tumbled away. "What's the big idea, Gray!" He called.

His voice faded into the distance.

Gray then glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes.

There was a silent question in his eyes; one that I already knew how to answer. "I guess I'll have to go get Natsu," I responded lamely. "Look, don't take this as my acceptance, but some things just have to happen. Don't get too carried away." With a poker face expression, I casually waved goodbye at the two wizards as I turned away, heading down the steep ridge.

Gray needed to fight his own battle, even if he would lose this time around.

* * *

…

As I progressed further down, the trees gradually got thicker. My feet slid in a few places, and I reached out to the vines and trees for stability. I could hear Gray and Lyon fight at first, but then it faded away. Following Natsu's trail of destruction and ice was an easier task than butting in to someone else's mess. When the ground flattened out, however, there wasn't a trace of the fire wizard.

Turning my head this way and that, I picked a direction on a whim and began to search for him. The ice he was trapped in couldn't have bounced that far. In the distance I could hear thunder rumbling as I walked. Counting my steps, I carefully made my way around the area, trying not to get lost.

But Natsu was nowhere to be found. Stopping, I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe I should just go back to the village," I said to no one. Natsu was supposed to return to Gray and drag him back to the village anyhow. My search was merely occupying the idle time I had and it was really the only thing I could think up to excuse myself while Gray fought.

And at this point, I needed to stick to Lucy. Something in my gut told me that Erza might not arrive on time.

I continued my way forward, heading away from the ridge and in the direction that would lead me to the village. And then the minutes slowly ticked by. In the moonlight, the forest appeared to take on a new appearance.

It became denser and tangled, a maze of confusion.

"Okay…so maybe it wasn't this direction."

The light in my hand barely made a dent in the darkness that spread before me, and I found myself focusing on the ground, trying hard not to stub anymore of my toes or trip on roots. I summoned more wisps of magic to light the way, each one hovering around me and flickering like ghostly lights. I flexed my fingers as I began to feel the strange prickly sensation in my hand again.

Pausing in my tracks, I finally took in my surroundings, trying to figure out how much further I had to go. And that was when I realized just how quiet things were.

Too quiet.

An eerie calm had settled over the landscape, and nothing could be heard. Shutting my eyes, I listened for the chatter of insects or the faint screeches of the birds that inhabited the trees. But the only noise I could hear was my own breathing. And I was not alone either. I snapped my eyes open and quickly settled into a defensive position. The sun was gone, and that made it impossible to hide myself—not enough of my own magic left.

I just hoped it was Natsu.

"Long time, no see," A voice hummed.

I spun around on my heel and found myself face to face with a white porcelain mask a few feet away. "You know, you have got to stop with this creeping around. Look, now you've gone and lost Laxus and that's just damn inconvenient," I bit out sarcastically. "I would love to give you the grand tour of the island and all, but I just don't have the time for it. Can't you just go?"

I didn't understand the sudden snarkiness coming from my own mouth, but I blamed it on the fact that I was exhausted from running around all day.

"The little pretend fairy doesn't want to play?"

Pretend fairy?

"That's a pretty low blow for some no name, _Mask_ ," I replied firmly.

"No name? My name is not worth your tongue."

"You want to fight then?" I pushed the hair out of my face, the light surrounding me getting brighter.

Suddenly, Laxus' voice comes from out of nowhere.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my way."

I turned my head enough to see Laxus in my field of vision. The tone in his voice had a bite to it, almost as if he was annoyed. "He started it. Believe me, I didn't want to be anywhere near the guy. I just wanted to get back to the village and find Lucy," I answered calmly. "And shouldn't he be a speck on the ground by now?"

"If it was that easy, then I would have left a while back," Laxus retorted. He didn't even spare me a glance, but walked up beside me. Mask had been silent during the whole exchange, merely watching.

"So, Lucy…" Mask finally spoke. "Perhaps I should find your friend?"

"The hell you will!" I shot back. His figure began to retreat into the trees and I realized with a start that maybe he meant what he said. "If he said he's going after Lucy…" I paused. Making a split decision, I launched into the woods after him. Whether or not Laxus was here, the masked man was my responsibility and it was up to me to deal with it.

Beside me, the air crackled and I could see Laxus' face. "He is mine to deal with," He said aggressively. He zipped out of sight, leaving me to blindly search around in the tightly knit forest. Faint traces of magic were still in the air and that was enough to follow as long as I kept my attention on it.

Where was the masked man going, though?

The trail seemed to loop around, heading in a direction that led further and further away from the one I had been heading in. Laxus was completely gone, and I wondered if this had been going on the entire time while I was with Natsu and the rest. It wasn't long before I ran into a small clearing. I could see Mask cutting through it, but Laxus wasn't in sight.

Maneuvering the light that I had summoned, I fired them at his back. Mask turned around and, rather than phase through them like I expected, he actually dodged them. He halted in his tracks and turned to face me. Forming more wisps of light, I didn't take my eyes off of him. I raced forward. "Solar Strike!" I cried out. Sidestepping out of the way, he launched his own attack.

He lunged towards me, and I lashed out in attempt to meet him head on with another burst of light. Rather than land the hit, my body went right through him, the magic being siphoned off of my fist. I stumbled and landed on my knee. Wincing, I adjusted my stance before attacking with a blinding white light.

He dodged it again this time.

"Your magic is still wavering in this darkness. How pathetic," Mask remarked.

He launched a black ball of magic in my direction, and I leapt back. The darkness expanded and my eyes widened. He was using the same spell back in Era—a black hole. The trees around it became warped, and I watched as things started being swept up into it. I could even feel it tugging at my jacket. Gritting my teeth, I brought my right hand over to my left and swirled the magic in my palms, the image of a sun coming to mind.

If he could create a black hole, then maybe I could counteract it with a sun. As risky as it sounded, it had a gravitational pull too, and I was willing to test it out.

Even if the spell I was thinking of was still a prototype.

Sweat formed on my forehead as I tried gathering more strength. With no other light around to drawn on, I needed to rely on my own reserves.

"Sol!"

A large mass of light hurdled out of my palm and collided with the darkness. As soon as it made contact, the world lit up and I had to shield my eyes. The night had receded from the trees for a brief moment and it looked like daylight. Straightening up, I blinked my eyes owlishly. The black hole was gone.

It worked.

"Yes!" I cheered. "Energy based magic…that's gotta be your weakness!" Something slammed into me and I gasped. The next thing I knew, I was sprawled out on the ground and felt my back burning. Getting back up to my feet, I licked my lips and realized that I could taste blood. In front of me several trees had been splintered through. Behind, Mask stood with his fist still raised. "Ah, crap," I cursed.

Brute strength.

Not only did Mask use some kind of phasing magic, but he had strength too. And I let my guard down.

Mask's figure flickered briefly, and he moved closer to me. My heart jumped, but I steeled myself. Stretching out my hands in front of me, I narrowed my eyes in focus. "Solar beam!" A ray of light shot out from my palms, but the attack did no good. As if he was made out of mist, Mask's figure blurred when the light reached him and it vanished. Then he raised his hands again and I moved.

"Sol!"

Right as the dark magic sprang into life, the ball of light collided with it, sending out a small shockwave in the process. My hands dropped back to my side as I tried to figure out my next move when suddenly Mask attacked yet again. It was a faint shimmer in the darkness that alerted me to the danger approaching me.

And then there was a faint whistling noise. I leaped out of the way in time to see what appeared to be a black disc cut into the tree behind me. Sensing more of them, I ran as fast as I could and reluctantly turned my back away from Mask. I could hear the magic crashing into the ground behind me, and slicing through the leaves. It was like an airstrike. "Running away now?" Whipping around, I tried finding my opponent. A twig snapped to my left, and I spun to face him.

"Don't flatter yourself," I panted heavily.

I was _not_ afraid of him.

I would not be.

I sank back into my stance again. A thought passed through my mind and I tried to ignore it: I wasn't a fighter, was I? I could use magic, but I needed more. I still needed to train it more. And then another more important thought crossed my mind…With all of the noise I was creating, where was Laxus at?

Clenching my fist, I prepared for a counter attack, but when I felt the tingling stretching up my left arm, I faltered. "What…" I mumbled breathlessly. I winced as I tried flexing my fingers. My left hand felt stiff, and that wasn't a good thing. In fact, both of my arms were tingling and I couldn't help but wonder why?

Was it because of me using too much magic?

"Is something the matter?" Mask drawled all too pleasantly. I didn't answer him this time. Shifting my weight, I readied for him to move again; I needed to keep up with him, but then what? I could still use magic, but how long would it be until I tired out?

I still needed to get to Lucy.

Time seemed to blur together, and the fight kept on. I kicked my leg forward in attempt to catch Mask off guard. He reflected it and returned it with another fist which I struggled to block. We were dancing around in circles. He was toying with me, nothing else. It was making me frustrated. Backing away, I rested my right hand against my left arm. Barely able to move it, my arm still hung at my side and I could feel sharp pinpricks in my hand. It was cold to the touch too. I quickly let it go and pushed it to the back of my mind.

And then, I felt a twinge of static at the back of my neck. I ignored it and darted forward. "Solar Strike!" Using my good arm, I attacked and braced myself to fall. Much to my shock, however, Mask grabbed my fist and canceled out my spell.

"You let your guard down again." I didn't react in time when I felt fingers closing around my throat and suddenly I couldn't breath—I was being choked? I frantically tried prying his fingers off, but they weren't budging. The world around me began to slow down as my lungs started to burn. "It would be so easy right now to snuff out the light in front of me," Mask breathed slowly. "But what fun would that be?"

Grabbing onto his arm, I dug my nails into the cloak wrapped around him. One thing registered in my mind: he was solid. All I needed to do was lift my hand. One spell.

Suddenly, the air became heavy, and I knew that something was about to happen.

"L-Laxus!" I hissed in response. The masked man heard me clear enough and before I knew what was happening the pressure around my neck disappeared. I landed on the ground right as a bolt of lightning erupted into life inches from where I was. The light was blinding, and the outline of the bolt danced across my eyes. And something happened that I didn't expect to see.

Mask stood stock still, some sparks still clinging to him.

He got hit.

Laxus managed to hit him.

Insane laughter filled the air, and then Mask did something else. His body began to fade from existence, but Laxus had charged forward in a blinding light. Another bolt crashed down, but it was too late. Mask had completely vanished. Wobbling, I stood up and tried figuring out where he had gone. Unlike before, all traces of his magic had disappeared.

"What the hell was that?!" I cried out in dismay. "Was he toying with us the whole time?"

He just…left?

"It would seem," Laxus begrudgingly answered. Rubbing my throat, I shook my head before turning on him. If I didn't know any better, Laxus appeared to be pouting. I glared at him.

"And you," I said vehemently. "Did you enjoy the show? There was no way that I could get to him before you which means you were watching the whole time, weren't you?"

Laxus' expression relaxed back into his usual, smug look. "Keep this up and I might just think you have anger issues," He taunted. "I warned you from the start to stay out of my way. Besides, you are very much alive. Be grateful."

"Be grateful?!" I repeated. The smug look turned into a sneer; I was proving his words right. Taking a breath, I sank to the ground. I didn't need to give him more ammo against me. "Do you really care so little about your own guildmates?" I then asked.

"Guildmates?" He said with a laugh. "Save that sentiment for the old man. None of you are worth the effort. If I had it my way, only the strongest would be in the guild. There wouldn't be any problem with worthless _outsiders_ to deal with." The pointed look in his eyes said that there was much more to his words than what was said.

"That's…is that supposed to be directed at me, Thunder boy?" I responded tiredly.

"But that is merely stating a fact," Laxus answered.

"Have you ever stopped to think that brute strength isn't actually what defines being strong?" I stood back up and my left arm twitched slightly. "Maybe you'd realize that's what makes Fairy Tail and the wizards in it strong. After all, magic is only as powerful as the heart that wields it. That's why we won't fail here, even if it's an S-class job. It's because we're stronger when we rely on each other."

Laxus threw his head back and began laughing.

"So you're telling me," He mused, "that the power of friendship conquers all?"

His laugh got even louder and I rested my forehead in my hand.

"When you put it that way…" I grumbled. "But it is the truth." If the manga or the anime proved anything, the magic of 'Nakama Power' sure as hell prevailed. It didn't help that that was one of the first things Zeref taught us; that magic power comes from the will of the heart. As ridiculous as it sounded, it had credibility.

If only Laxus knew, then he wouldn't be laughing.

I was about to say something else when my words were cut off by a sharp gust of wind. Snapping my mouth shut, I was confused at first. The wind was out of place. Then it was the sound of a scream that could be heard in the distance—two people were screaming. And it occurred to me who it was.

"Lucy—I forgot!" I shouted in surprise.

Beside me, Laxus raised an eyebrow.

"What's the hurry?"

I turned on him. "I've got to help Lucy before anything bad happens. Erza's not here which means that I have to act in her place."

"Act in her place? Now what could you mean by that?" There was a calculated look in his eyes. He was thinking something.

I swallowed before shaking my head. "Doesn't mean anything," I shot back. Not waiting for another response, I darted away. My heart was hammering in my chest by now as I figured out which direction the screaming came from, and how I had gotten so close to the beach, I hadn't a clue. It was by some stroke of luck.

The sound of waves came to my ears. The next moment I ran across Angelica the rat who was lying on the ground. That was how I knew I had found them, both Lucy and Sherry. I made it to the edge of the cliff in time to see Lucy's spirit, Aquarius, disappear. She had swept the two up into a tidal wave, no doubt.

Below on the beach, Sherry and Lucy were stumbling around. I pursed my lips as I watched the scene unfold, trying hard not to laugh; it was the most miserable thing I had ever seen. The two were trying to beat each other up, but they were too weak to cause any damage. They were bickering between each other too.

Finally, Sherry said something I couldn't hear. Lucy appeared to freak out and somehow managed to clothesline the pink haired girl underneath her chin. Sherry was knocked out right as the sun began to rise in the distance. I frowned at that—it meant I had stayed up all night. There was a shrill cry that broke me out of my thoughts.

I nearly forgot about Angelica.

She was going to dive bomb on top of Lucy.

Time seemed to slow as the rat came into view. Down on the beach, Lucy had collapsed. I knew that she wasn't able to move. My feet moved beneath me; I had to act fast, but running wouldn't be enough. With the sun rising in the distance, I tried mustering more strength, wrapping my legs in light magic and spreading it to my arms.

It felt so warm.

The world around me became unfocused, but I could still see Angelica closing in. In another second, Lucy was right in front of me and I pulled her out of the way. Unable to slow down, both of us plowed into the sand and Angelica shook the ground as she landed face down beside Sherry.

It was a last ditch effort on all of our parts.

At least one crisis was averted.

For now.

* * *

...

Author's Note: Hey, I'm alive and well you guys! It's been awhile since I've been able to update, hasn't it? Whoops, time got away from me there. This chapter is a little longer as a result.

So, there's a lot of action in this chapter. We've got Laxus wandering around on the island, but he's not the only one. Mask makes another appearance. He's my way of balancing out Finn's presence in the story. His part won't impact too much at the moment as I want the story focus on Finn's adventures with Fairy Tail, so don't worry too much. As a side note, I'm beginning to think that this story will start to become AU. Finn will begin changing things, even if it is slow at first...that and rewriting all of Fairy Tail's story with an OC and not changing much seems impossible. That, and Finn will get much stronger too...eventually.

Anyways, thank you so much to all of my readers out there, and my reviewers especially! It means a lot! Special shout out to **Gerbilfriend** for FiaFT's first fan art! Words can't describe how happy I am! Beta'd by **Shadowjab17**.

Until next time,

~BlueCampanula


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